HM Treasury

Redundancy Pay: Private Sector

Kevin Brennan: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 4February 2016 to Question 24536, what assessment he has made of the number of exit payments in the private sector above £1 million; and what assessment his Department has made of the effect of such exit payments on pay inequality within and between the public and private sectors.

Greg Hands: Exit payment terms and contractual arrangements, including the number of individuals on those terms, vary significantly across the private sector and within the public sector. The Government has made no specific assessment of the number of exit payments in the private sector above £1 million. The Government accepts there may be examples of terms in the private sector that match or exceed those in the public sector; including some private sector exit packages that exceed £1 million. Conversely, the Government has seen no evidence that redundancy terms such as employer-funded early retirement, which are widely available across the public sector and often cost employers tens, or even hundreds of thousands of pounds per person, are replicated to the same extent in the private sector.   The Government has a duty to ensure public sector exit payments are fair and provide value for money to the tax payer. This is why, in the 2015 Spending Review, the Government announced it would consult on further cross public sector action on exit payment terms to ensure greater consistency within the public sector and reduce the cost of redundancy pay-outs. This consultation was launched on the 5 February 2016 and can be found at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/further-consultation-on-limiting-public-sector-exit-payments. The Government believes that the remuneration of senior staff in the private sector is primarily a matter for companies and their shareholders. Comprehensive reforms were introduced in 2013 to require companies to put their forward-looking pay policies, which must include details of their approach to exit payments, to a binding shareholder vote at least every three years. Companies are therefore only able to make exit payments within the limits that have been approved by a majority of shareholders. Overall, public sector pay remains on average comparable to private sector pay, and public sector defined benefit pensions are amongst the best available. HM Treasury analysis, as well as independent studies, show public sector pay at a premium for most of the last Parliament, and a significant continued premium when pensions are taken into account (IFS October 2014).

Public Sector: Redundancy Pay

Kevin Brennan: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to Principle G of the Cabinet Office Consultation Principles 2016, what steps he took to (a) consider how the summer holiday period would affect consultation with stakeholders and (b) mitigate such effects when deciding on the consultation period on proposals relating to exit payments in the public sector.

Greg Hands: The consultation on a public sector exit payment cap ran from 31 July to 27 August 2015. These dates ensured that the consultation concluded in advance of the Enterprise Bill’s introduction on 16 September 2015, to inform the content of the ‘public sector employment: restrictions on exit payments’ clause. In addition, this policy was a clear manifesto commitment made in April 2015 and the intention to legislate was announced in May. The Government also considered responses received after the official consultation deadline.The consultation received over 4000 responses, which is a good indication that there was sufficient time to comment and demonstrates that stakeholders were able to effectively engage with the proposals. The measure has also undergone full Parliamentary scrutiny during the passage of the Enterprise Bill.

Banks: Finance

Kevin Brennan: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 5 February 2016 to Question 24869, whether the (a) Royal Bank of Scotland, (b) Bradford and Bingley and c) Northern Rock banks have received any public funding since they were taken into public ownership.

Harriett Baldwin: In 2008 and 2009 HM Treasury made a number of interventions to support institutions including Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), Bradford & Bingley and Northern Rock. Full details of the funds used and outstanding balances can be found at the Office of Budget Responsibility’s (OBR) website and at UK Financial Investments’ (UKFI) website:-http://budgetresponsibility.org.uk/http://www.ukfi.co.uk/

Stamp Duty Land Tax: Second Homes

Steve McCabe: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 22 February 2016 to Question 26995, what steps he has taken to support people who have moved home because of flooding and are unable to sell their primary home within the 18-month eligibility period for refund of stamp duty.

Mr David Gauke: The Government has doubled the eligibility period from 18 to 36 months for refunds from the higher rates of SDLT if purchasers move home before selling their main residence. The Government believes that the longer period of time is fairer to purchasers who may, due to circumstances beyond their control, be unable to sell a previous main residence within 18 months.

Social Services: Living Wage

Barbara Keeley: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of introducing the national living wage into social care from April 2016.

Greg Hands: At the time of the Summer Budget 2015 the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) estimated the costs of the National Living Wage to employers across the economy would be almost £4 billion in 2020, equivalent to just over 1 per cent of corporate profits. It was in recognition of costs such as the NLW and growing demand for care services that the Spending Review announced we would be making additional funding available to local government for social care, worth up to £3.5 billion a year by 2019/20. This will support councils to continue to focus on core services and to increase the prices they pay for care, including to cover the costs of the National Living Wage.

Apprentices: Taxation

Gordon Marsden: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will estimate how much the apprenticeship levy is expected to raise in (a) 2017-18, (b) 2018-19 and (c) 2019-20.

Greg Hands: The latest forecasts for the apprenticeship levy by the Office for Budget Responsibility are published in table 2.2 of the Budget 2016 document, which is available on gov.uk.

Human Trafficking

Paul Blomfield: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what training is provided to HM Revenue and Customs national minimum wage inspectors on identification and investigation of cases of human trafficking.

Paul Blomfield: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many (a) enforcement actions have been undertaken by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) involving victims of modern slavery and (b) victims of modern slavery HMRC recovered national minimum wage arrears for in each of the last five years; and how much in national minimum wage arrears HMRC has recovered for victims of modern slavery in that period.

Mr David Gauke: HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has developed a specific training package targeting Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking which is mandatory for all visiting officers. This training advises officers on the indicators to look for and the responses to take where exploitation is suspected. HMRC participates in multi-agency investigations into cases of Modern Slavery where there are potential tax or National Minimum Wage (NMW) offences. Since February 2015, HMRC has opened 73 tax investigations in cases where Modern Slavery is suspected. HMRC does not collate specific data on any NMW arrears identified in cases involving Modern Slavery.

Public Expenditure

Stephen Doughty: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the budgetary implications of lower-than-predicted growth rates for government departments other than the Department for International Development.

Greg Hands: Departmental budgets were set at Spending Review 2015.Budget 2016 announced an adjustment to Official Development Assistance spend to account for the lower growth forecast.

Sanitary Protection: VAT

Alison Thewliss: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department plans to include non-prescription incontinence pads, maternity pads and breast pads used by breastfeeding mothers in the definition of sanitary products for the purposes of zero rating under VAT.

Mr David Gauke: The zero rate of VAT will apply to any sanitary protection product that is designed and marketed solely for the absorption of collection of menstrual flow or lochia, including: Sanitary towelsSanitary padsTamponsKeepersMaternity pads Eligible incontinence products, for sale to disabled people, are already zero rated.

Foreign Investment in UK: Job Creation

Emma Reynolds: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the number of jobs that have been created by foreign direct investment from other EU countries in each region and constituent part of the UK in each of the last five years.

Mr David Gauke: UK Trade and Investment (UKTI) have reported on the number of jobs associated with foreign direct investment projects in UK regions in the ‘Foreign Direct Investment projects by UK Region (2010/11 to 2014/15)’ report. This can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/foreign-direct-investment-projects-by-ukti-regions-201011-to-201415/foreign-direct-investment-projects-by-uk-region-201011-to-201415

Exports: EU Countries

Nick Herbert: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the level of goods exports to the EU from (a) Scotland, (b) Wales, (c) Northern Ireland and (d) each English region as a proportion of (i) total exports and (ii) GVA from each of those areas.

Mr David Gauke: HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) publish data on the total value of the UK’s import and export trade in goods by region:https://www.uktradeinfo.com/Statistics/RTS/Pages/default.aspx The latest data for 2015 shows that the value of goods exports to the EU as a proportion of total goods exports is as follows:RegionGoods exports to the EU (£000s)Total goods exports (£000s)%North East7,001,60312,141,34357.7North West11,578,56624,838,09346.6Yorkshire7,785,13316,575,59047.0East Midlands8,684,72219,318,34745.0West Midlands12,035,88828,964,50141.6East of England11,411,14921,327,26653.5London12,727,12932,428,17539.2South East19,003,48540,521,16146.9South West9,718,02315,272,22363.6Wales5,024,16312,200,13641.2Scotland6,719,84017,467,86538.5Northern Ireland3,462,4946,327,32054.7 The ONS publish regional GVA on an annual basis. The latest data available is for 2014: http://www.ons.gov.uk/economy/grossvalueaddedgva/bulletins/regionalgrossvalueaddedincomeapproach/december2015 The value of goods exports to the EU in 2014 as a proportion of GVA is as follows:RegionGoods exports to the EU (£m)Gross Value Added (£m)%North East6,98947,70214.7North West13,474149,8699.0Yorkshire8,456106,4677.9East Midlands8,88395,1789.3West Midlands11,529114,75510.0East of England13,958138,80110.1London12,292364,3103.4South East19,899239,6988.3South West8,180121,0706.8Wales5,76154,33610.6Scotland8,364123,5436.8Northern Ireland3,63034,38410.6

Prime Minister

Climate Change

Clive Lewis: To ask the Prime Minister, what plans he has to appoint a new envoy on climate change.

Mr David Cameron: The Government is committed to tackling climate change by reducing our emissions at home and pushing for ambitious action globally. The Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, my right hon. Friend the Member for Hastings and Rye (Ms Rudd), played a key role in Paris to secure the first global legally binding climate agreement. The focus now is on implementation. There are no plans to appoint a new envoy on climate change at this time.

Sports: Departmental Coordination

Tom Pursglove: To ask the Prime Minister, if he will create a group at ministerial level of representatives from the relevant government departments to ensure that progress is made on the Government's sport strategy with cross-departmental coordination.

Mr David Cameron: I refer my hon. Friend to ‘Sporting Future: A New Strategy for an Active Nation’, published in December 2015, a copy of which can be accessed on the gov.uk website.

Department for Work and Pensions

Employment and Support Allowance

Michelle Donelan: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many employment and support allowance claimants with (a) Parkinson's disease, (b) rheumatoid arthritis, (c) motor neurone disease, (d) multiple sclerosis and (e) cystic fibrosis have been (i) placed in the support group, (ii) placed in the work-related activity group and (iii) found fit for work since 2008; and what statements have been made to current claimants of employment and support allowance to inform them that they will not be affected by changes.

Priti Patel: The information requested is shown in the table below.  Initial assessmentsCystic FibrosisSpinal Muscular AtrophyParkinson's DiseaseMultiple SclerosisOther Rheumatoid ArthritisSG9001,2001,7008,0003,600WRAG1001007002,7003,500FFW100-6001,9004,300Repeat assessments SG5003001,1007,5004,600WRAG100-5002,2003,900FFW--1004001,200IBR assessments SG6002001,30015,5006,200WRAG100-3002,6005,000FFW---3001,200 Notes:Figures from October 2008 – June 2015.Figures are rounded to the nearest 100. “-“denotes nil or under 50.  The Department has stated throughout the passage of the Bill that current claimants will not be affected and these statements are in the public record.

Personal Independence Payment: Disability Aids

Debbie Abrahams: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many in work personal independence payment (PIP) claimants will be affected by his Department's proposed changes to aids and appliances points; and how many such claims will (a) no longer qualify for PIP and (b) receive a reduced PIP payment.

Michelle Donelan: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of how many people in each (a) region and (b) constituent part of the UK will be affected by changes to personal independence payments: aids and appliances; and what support he plans to give to those affected.

Debbie Abrahams: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of the number of in work personal independence payment (PIP) claimants who will no longer be able to work as a result of his Department's proposed changes to PIP aids and appliances points.

Debbie Abrahams: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many personal independence payment (PIP) claimants in each (a) parliamentary constituency and (b) local authority area will be affected by his Department's proposed changes to aids and appliances points; and what the average reduction in PIP payment per person will be.

Michelle Donelan: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what communications his Department had with people receiving personal independence payments to inform them of the potential changes to their benefits before announcing those changes.

Justin Tomlinson: As confirmed by my right honourable friend the Secretary of State in his statement to the House on 21 March, the proposed changes to PIP will not be going ahead. We spend around £50bn every year on benefits alone to support people with disabilities or health conditions, with spending on Personal Independence Payment (PIP) and Disability Living Allowance (DLA) having increased by more than £3 billion since 2010. The government is committed to talking to disabled people, their representatives, healthcare professionals and employers to ensure the welfare system works better with the health and social care systems and provides help and support to those who need it most.

Personal Independence Payment

Debbie Abrahams: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many disability living allowance claimants he expects to transfer to personal independence payment in each year to 2020.

Justin Tomlinson: We are rolling out Personal Independence Payment (PIP) to existing Disability Living Allowance (DLA) claimants in a controlled way. We will continue to monitor performance and will carefully control the number of people we choose to invite to claim PIP each month. The forecast estimates for the numbers of people in receipt of Disability Living Allowance we currently expect to be awarded PIP, in each year to 2020, are in the table below and may be subject to change: 2016/172017/182018/192019/20450,000550,000350,00050,000Notes:Data rounded to the nearest 50,000Includes both adults and children reaching age 16

Families: Government Assistance

Mr David Burrowes: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much the Government plans to spend on relationship support in 2016-17; and on what programmes that funding will be spent.

Mr David Burrowes: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what plans the Government has for the allocation of the £70 million funding for relationship support announced by the Prime Minister on 11 January 2016; and what the timetable will be for the distribution of that funding over the Parliament.

Priti Patel: The Department is developing the detail of how the funding will be allocated. For 2016/17 we are extending our programme of relationship support provision which will include supporting local authorities to improve the quality of couple or co-parenting relationships and extending the evidence base in this policy area.We are also exploring which interventions can maximise the important links between parenting and relationship support.

Families: Government Assistance

Mr David Burrowes: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much was spent by the Government on relationship support in 2015-16; and to what programmes that funding was allocated.

Priti Patel: A total of £11.2m is forecast to be spent in the full year 2015/16 on relationship support as follows:  Legacy Relationship Support Contracts £7.0mEvaluation of Legacy Relationship Support Contracts £0.3mInnovation Fund £2.5mEvaluation of Innovation Fund £0.5mLocal Family Offer £0.7mPerinatal Pilot £0.2mTotal £11.2m

Children: Maintenance

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 29 February 2016 to Question 27438, on children: maintenance, on what basis those cases have been referred for arrears cleansing or validation.

Priti Patel: Cases on the 1993 and 2003 are being selected for closure in groups determined by case characteristics. This process started in July 2014 and is planned to last until the end of 2017. When a case going through this process has its on-going maintenance liability ended, it is then referred for “arrears cleanse”. This process involves checking several elements of the case, to ensure that the final debt balance is stable and validated. This validated debt balance is moved to the 2012 system

Migration: EU Countries

Sir William Cash: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will provide an estimate of (a) the total level of immigration from other EU member states and (b) the annual number of people coming to settle in the UK from other EU member states which would trigger the activation of the proposed alert and safeguard emergency brake mechanism; and what discussions he has had with his counterparts in other EU member states and the European Commission on the appropriate thresholds for the emergency brake mechanism to be activated.

Priti Patel: The Department for Work and Pensions has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Vocational Guidance

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 11 March 2016 to Question 30367, on vocational guidance, whether schools in Jobcentre Plus Districts in which Jobcentre Plus Support for Schools is being rolled out will be contacted by Jobcentre Plus or the Careers and Enterprise Company.

Priti Patel: Initial contact is planned to be through the Careers & Enterprise Company to keep communications and contact lines in one co-ordinated process. However, some schools, on hearing about Jobcentre Plus Support, have made direct approaches to JCP to request inclusion in the initiative.

Social Security Benefits: Disqualification

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether Jobcentre Plus staff can provide support and advice to claimants who are intending to appeal against a benefit sanctions decision.

Priti Patel: Jobcentre staff will advise claimants about the appeals process at various stages.

Social Security Benefits: Mortality Rates

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the mortality rate for claimants of incapacity benefit and employment and support allowance aged between 40 and 50 was in (a) England and Wales, (b) Newcastle, (c) Sheffield and (d) Newham in each of the last five years.

Priti Patel: The information requested is not readily available and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

Personal Independence Payment: Inverclyde

Ronnie Cowan: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many personal independence payment claimants there were in Inverclyde in 2015.

Stephen Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many personal independence payment claimants there were in Cardiff South and Penarth constituency in each of the last 12 months.

Justin Tomlinson: Information on the number of claimants in receipt of Personal Independence Payment, by month and a range of geographic breakdowns, including parliamentary constituency, is available from Stat-Xplore. https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/

Average Earnings

Ms Margaret Ritchie: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the level of household median net earnings after the deduction of income tax and national insurance contributions and before benefits was for (a) all working-age adults, (b) working-age adults without children and (c) working-age adults with children (i) including individuals in households without household earnings and (ii) excluding individuals in households without household earnings in the most recent period for which figures are available.

Priti Patel: Table 1: Median weekly household net earnings – including households without earnings, UK 2013/14  Household median weekly net earnings(a) (i) All households with at least one working age adult£452(b) (i) All households with at least one working age adult and no dependent children£442(c) (i) All households with at least one working age adult and at least one dependent child£469 Table 2: Median weekly household net earnings – excluding households without earnings, UK 2013/14  Household median weekly net earnings (a) (ii) All households with at least one working age adult£561(b) (ii) All households with at least one working age adult and no dependent children£558(c ) (ii) All households with at least one working age adult and at least one dependent child£566 Source: Family Resources Survey, 2013/14 Notes:Net earnings are defined as earnings from employment and self-employment, after the deduction of income tax and national insurance contributions but before deductions such as pension contributions, trade union fees etc..Median calculations in Table 2 exclude those households with zero or negative net earnings (i.e. excludes those with losses from self-employment).The Family Resources Survey is a nationally representative sample of UK households.The figures from the Family Resources Survey are based on a sample of households which have been adjusted for non-response using multi-purpose grossing factors which align the Family Resources Survey to former Government Office Region population by age and sex. Estimates based on survey data are subject to uncertainty due to sampling error and remaining non-response error.Data are rounded to the nearest whole pound.

Personal Independence Payment: Cardiff South and Penarth

Stephen Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the average weekly personal independence payment was to people in Cardiff South and Penarth constituency in the last 12 months.

Justin Tomlinson: At the end of January 2016 the average amount payable to PIP recipients in the Cardiff South and Penarth parliamentary constituency was £89.85 per week.

Children: Poverty

Nick Thomas-Symonds: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 17 March 2016 to Question 30986, what estimate his Department has made of the number of children who will be lifted out of poverty as a result of universal credit before any effect on employment.

Priti Patel: This Government is committed to eliminating child poverty and transforming the life chances of the most disadvantaged children and families. We know that work is the best route out of poverty, and Universal Credit is designed to strengthen incentives for parents to move into and progress in work. Ignoring the impact that Universal Credit has on incentivising work and raising the incomes of families is inappropriate. The impact of Universal Credit cannot be considered in isolation– it is a key component of a broader strategy to move Britain to a higher wage, lower welfare, lower tax society.

Personal Independence Payment: Assessments

Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to improve the assessment process for personal independence payments.

Justin Tomlinson: Since its inception, the system of assessing claimants’ eligibility for Personal Independence Payment (PIP) has been continually reviewed and refined in order to improve its efficiency, effectiveness and the claimant experience. We have worked extensively with PIP assessment providers and disability rights groups to make improvements to guidance, training and audit procedures in order to ensure a quality service. The Government’s response to Paul Gray’s independent review of the process can be found at: www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/478224/pip-assessment-first-independent-review-second-response.pdf The Government has committed in legislation to a further independent review which will report by April 2017.

Home Office

Asylum: EU Law

Thangam Debbonaire: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people have been transferred to the UK from (a) Italy, (b) Hungary, (c) Croatia, (d) France, (e) Belgium, (f) Austria and (g) Germany under (i) articles 6 and 8, (ii) articles 9, 10 and 11, (iii) article 16, and (iv) article 17 of the Dublin III Regulation in the last 12 months.

James Brokenshire: Data on cases progressed under the Dublin III Regulation is recorded on the main immigration database. However, this data is not held in a way that allows it to be reported on automatically.

Asylum: EU Law

Yvette Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many take charge requests under the Dublin III Regulation the UK has accepted from France for unaccompanied children for family reunification in the last 12 months.

James Brokenshire: Holding answer received on 11 March 2016



Data on cases progressed under the Dublin Convention is recorded on the main immigration database. However, this data is not held in a way that allows it to be reported on automatically and is therefore not currently available.

Asylum: EU Law

Liam Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many take charge requests under the Dublin III Regulation protocols she has agreed to in relation to unaccompanied asylum-seeking children in France with either parents or alleged parents in the UK in the last 12 months.

James Brokenshire: Holding answer received on 11 March 2016



Data on cases progressed under the Dublin III Regulation is recorded on the main immigration database. However, this data is not held in a way that allows it to be reported on automatically and is therefore not currently available.

Asylum: Children

Liam Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many take charge requests under the Dublin III Regulation she has received in relation to unaccompanied asylum-seeking children in France with either parents or alleged parents in the UK in the last 12 months.

James Brokenshire: Holding answer received on 14 March 2016



Data on cases progressed under the Dublin III Regulation is recorded on the main immigration database. However, this data is not held in a way that allows it to be reported on automatically.

Home Office: European Social Fund

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how much funding her Department received from the European Social Fund (a) between 2007 and 2014 and (b) from 2014 to the last month for which data is available.

Karen Bradley: The Home Office’s finance system has no record of the Department receiving funds from the European Social Fund.

Asylum

Charlotte Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 25 February 2016 to Question 27389, what assessment her Department has made of the ability of failed asylum seekers to fund travel to their country of origin.

James Brokenshire: Migrants in the UK without permission, including those who have failed in a claim for asylum, are expected to leave the UK promptly and voluntarily. Those who need help purchasing a ticket or organising their travel can contact the Voluntary Return Service that came into effect on 1 January, who can provide assistance as appropriate. Subject to the bespoke needs of the individual or family, reintegration support in the country of origin may also be provided. Those individuals who do not leave voluntarily will be forcibly removed.

UK Membership of EU: Immigration Controls

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the contribution of the UK's membership of the EU to the protection of the UK's borders.

James Brokenshire: At the February European Council, the Government negotiated a new settlement, giving the United Kingdom a special status in a reformed European Union. The Government's view is that the UK will be stronger, safer and better off in a reformed EU. The Government published a white paper, ‘The best of both worlds’, on 22 February, which sets out how membership of the EU enhances our ability to co-operate with other EU Member States to combat crime and terrorism and keep all parts of the United Kingdom safe.

Road Traffic Offences: Fixed Penalties

Mrs Louise Ellman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many fixed penalty notices have been issued by police forces for driving on a motorway lane closed with a red X in each of the last 10 years; and if she will make a statement.

Mike Penning: Information on the number of fixed penalty notices (FPNs) issued by police forces for driving on a motorway lane closed with a red X is not available.Driving in a motorway lane closed with a red X comes under the broader offence category ‘neglect of traffic signs’ and cannot be separately identified.The Home Office has issued no formal guidance or instructions to the police on the enforcement of non-compliance of red X light signals. The enforcement of this offence is an operational matter for the police, as determined locally and based on local priorities.

Deportation

Patrick Grady: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what contracts her Department has entered into with charter flight companies for the deportation of non-UK citizens to their country of origin.

James Brokenshire: The Home Office has a contract for the delivery of Travel Services with Carlson Wagonlit Travel Limited, which includes the provision of charter flights. The contract runs from 1st May 2010 and expires on 30th April 2017.

Prisoners: Death

Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to reduce the number of non-natural deaths (a) in police custody and (b) on the prison estate.

Mike Penning: Every death in police custody and on the prison estate is a tragedy and this is a priority area for the Government.The Ministerial Council for Deaths in Custody looks at this issue across Government. The Council considers what lessons can be learnt following a death in custody and the development of a clear and robust legislative and policy framework to help prevent deaths in any state custody setting.The Home Secretary announced a major review into deaths in police custody on 23 July. This review is being led by Dame Elish Angiolini who is working closely with victims, families and the police. At its heart will be the experience of the families of those who have died in custody. The review is scheduled to report in the summer of 2016. My officials also work closely with police forces, the Independent Police Complaints Commission, the National Offender Management Service and other partners to take action to minimise the risks to detainees and prevent deaths from occurring in custody environments. Police forces are required to refer all matters concerning deaths in police custody to the Independent Police Complaints Commission who will decide whether the matter should be investigated and, if so, what form that investigation should take.All deaths in prison are subject to a police investigation, an independent investigation by the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman (PPO) and a Coroner’s inquest. The Ministry of Justice works hard to learn lessons from each death, and has accepted and acted on the vast majority of recommendations from recent investigations by the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman.All prisons are required to have procedures in place to identify, manage and support people who are at risk of harm to themselves, and the National Offender Management Service (NOMS) has put in place additional resources to undertake this safer custody work.Health partners are engaged in supporting all prisoners' physical and mental health and wellbeing, and play an important role in the identification and management of prisoners at risk of self-harm and suicide.On 17 December 2015 the Government published its response to the Harris Review into the deaths in custody of young adults and reaffirmed its commitment to reducing the levels of self-harm and self-inflicted deaths in custody.NOMS has an extensive programme of work aimed at preventing self-inflicted deaths and reducing levels of self-harm.

Employment: Vetting

Mr Douglas Carswell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the effect on unemployed people starting employment of the time taken by the Disclosure and Barring Service to process applications.

Mr Douglas Carswell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many applications to the Disclosure and Barring Service from people in Clacton constituency have taken more than 60 days to process in the last 12 months.

Mr Douglas Carswell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of the time taken to process Disclosure and Barring Service checks.

Karen Bradley: In the vast majority of cases, disclosure certificates are issued in a timely manner. Performance data relating to February 2016 indicates that average processing time for Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) applications was 15 days. It is important that checks undertaken are thorough and a proportion of the applications received by the DBS need to be referred to one or more police forces as part of the enhanced disclosure process.The DBS is reliant on police forces completing their checks in a timely manner. A small number of forces have experienced difficulties in meeting the service level agreements in place between the DBS and each force. Whilst no assessment has been made of the impact of timeliness on unemployed customers, it is recognised that delays may create problems for some people. The DBS is working closely with those forces whose performance does not meet turnaround time targets. We will not compromise when it comes to the safety of children and vulnerable adults.The number of applications to the DBS from people living in the Clacton constituency that have taken more than 60 days to process in the last 12 months is listed in the table below.MonthNumber of certificates issued by DBS to applicants in Clacton constituencyApplications that took longer than 60 daysMarch 2015– February 20165,707 322

Retail Trade: Crime

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the cost of retail crime was to businesses in each year for which data is available.

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the cost of online retail fraud was to retailers in each year for which data is available.

Karen Bradley: The Home Office does not hold the information requested.The Home Office runs an annual Commercial Victimisation Survey (CVS) which asks business premises in different sectors about their experience of various crime types, including fraud, in the latest year.In order to keep the length of the survey, and hence the burden on respondents, to a minimum, businesses are only asked about the cost of the latest incident of each crime type experienced in the year. Therefore, it is not possible to provide an aggregate cost of fraud or overall crime to businesses in the retail sector.

Violent and Sex Offender Register: Wales

Susan Elan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what representations she has received from the North Wales Police and Crime Commissioner on the removal of people convicted of child abuse and rape from the Sex Offenders Register.

Karen Bradley: The Home Office has not received any representations from the North Wales Police and Crime Commissioner on the removal of people convicted of child abuse and rape from the sex offenders’ register.Offenders who are on the register indefinitely are only able to seek a police review after 15 years. In 2012, the Home Office issued detailed guidance to police forces on assessing applications for review. All decisions to release a sex offender from the notification requirements must be authorised by a senior police officer. Public safety is at the heart of all decisions taken by police, and those who continue to pose a risk will remain on the sex offenders' register, if necessary for life.

Human Trafficking

Sarah Champion: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps the Government has taken to strengthen its data collection strategy to help combat human trafficking.

Karen Bradley: We are strengthening data collection on human trafficking and other forms of modern slavery in several ways. In the Modern Slavery Act we introduced a duty on named public authorities to notify the Home Office every time they have reasonable grounds to believe they have encountered a victim of modern slavery.These notifications can be anonymous so that data is collected even if the potential victim does not want to engage with the authorities. We are reviewing the National Referral Mechanism form, so that it better captures key data about potential victims and perpetrators. Polaris and Unseen UK are working with other NGOs and law enforcement to launch an enhanced modern slavery helpline later this year which will capture more data and help to shine a light on the scale and nature of this appalling crime.

Cedars Pre-departure Accommodation Facility

Henry Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what progress her Department has made on plans for the future of the Cedars pre-departure accommodation site.

James Brokenshire: The cost of pre-departure accommodation is kept under review. The Home Office is currently considering the most cost-effective way of providing pre-departure accommodation within an enforced family returns service.

Psychoactive Substances Act 2016

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when those parts of the Psychoactive Substances Act 2016 which have not come into force are expected to come into force.

Karen Bradley: We expect to commence the Psychoactive Substances Act in its entirety in the spring. We need to ensure the readiness of all the activity necessary to enable the smooth implementation of the legislation across the UK and to support law enforcement in their ability to drive forward the legislation on commencement.

Northern Ireland Office

Immunity Certificates: Northern Ireland

Gavin Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, how many public interest immunity applications her Department has (a) received and (b) approved in the last five years.

Mrs Theresa Villiers: Holding answer received on 17 March 2016



Records indicate that my Department has received and approved a total of 31 applications for public interest immunity in the last five years.

Money Laundering: EU Law

Mr Charles Walker: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what estimate her Department has made of the number of its senior civil servants who will potentially fall under the provisions of the Fourth EU Money Laundering Directive, 2015/849; and what assessment she has made of which of her Department's agencies or other public bodies will potentially be classed as holding a prominent public function for the purposes of that directive.

Mr Ben Wallace: Under the Fourth Anti-Money Laundering Directive, which will be transposed into national law by June 2017, a politically exposed person is one who has been entrusted with a prominent public function domestically or by a foreign country. This would include some senior civil servants, such as ambassadors and chargés d'affaires.The Government's view is that the Directive permits a risk-based approach to the identification of whether an individual is a politically exposed person and, when identified, the Directive enables the application of different degrees of enhanced measures to reflect the risks posed. The Government will be setting out this view in a consultation which will be published shortly.The changes proposed under the Directive should not prevent any individual in this category from gaining or maintaining access to financial services. The Treasury regularly raises these issues with financial institutions and the regulator, and we encourage financial institutions to take a proportionate, risk-based approach when applying these measures.

Bill of Rights: Northern Ireland

Ms Margaret Ritchie: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of a Northern Ireland Bill of Rights.

Mrs Theresa Villiers: The Government will consider supporting a Northern Ireland Bill of Rights if the Northern Ireland parties can reach a consensus on its content.

Department of Health

Nutrition

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many people were recorded as having (a) an admission and (b) a discharge episode with a (i) primary and (ii) secondary diagnosis of (A) malnutrition, (B) nutritional anaemias and (C) other nutritional deficiencies in the NHS in each year since 2010-11.

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what support is provided to healthcare professionals to diagnose and reduce malnutrition in adults; what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of this support; and if he will make a statement.

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent assessment his Department has made of the level of adult malnutrition; what steps his Department is taking to reduce adult malnutrition; and if he will make a statement.

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate his Department has made of the cost to the NHS of malnutrition amongst adults.

Jane Ellison: The identification of adults in hospital and the community who are at risk of malnutrition or who have become malnourished has improved since The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence published guidance in 2012 which included quality standard 24 ‘Nutrition support in adults’. The guidance advises that individuals should be screened for the risk of malnutrition in care settings using a validated screening tool, to enable early and effective interventions. The use of the ‘Malnutrition Universal Screening Tool’ (MUST) or an equivalent screening tool is now a mandatory requirement for all hospitals providing National Health Service funded care. The guidance is also intended to help health care professionals deliver the best possible care and give people the most effective treatments. Finished admission episodes (FAE) with secondary diagnoses are not published in a disaggregated form and are therefore not available in the format requested. Finished discharge episodes (FDEs) are not published in any form by the Health and Social Care Information Centre (HSCIC). FAE data is published on the HSCIC website. These data are only available for primary diagnoses and aggregated primary and secondary diagnoses for people of all ages. It is not possible to use combinations of the tables to subtract primary diagnosis from all diagnosis to obtain the number of episodes with a secondary diagnosis of malnutrition, as a single code may appear more than once on any given record. Data on Primary Diagnosis is published in the following tables: 2010/11http://www.hscic.gov.uk/catalogue/PUB02570/hosp-epis-stat-admi-prim-diag-3cha-10-11-tab.xls and http://www.hscic.gov.uk/catalogue/PUB02570/hosp-epis-stat-admi-prim-diag-4cha-10-11-tab.xls 2011/12 http://www.hscic.gov.uk/catalogue/PUB08288/hosp-epis-stat-admi-prim-diag-3cha-11-12-tab.xls and http://www.hscic.gov.uk/catalogue/PUB08288/hosp-epis-stat-admi-prim-diag-4cha-11-12-tab.xls 2012/13 http://www.hscic.gov.uk/catalogue/PUB12566/hosp-epis-stat-admi-diag-2012-13-tab.xlsx 2013/14 http://www.hscic.gov.uk/catalogue/PUB16719/hosp-epis-stat-admi-diag-2013-14-tab.xlsx 2014/15 http://www.hscic.gov.uk/catalogue/PUB19124/hosp-epis-stat-admi-diag-2014-15-tab.xlsx Data on Secondary Diagnosis is not available for 2010-11 and 2011-12, however it is available from 2012-13 onwards in: 2012/13 http://www.hscic.gov.uk/catalogue/PUB12566/hosp-epis-stat-admi-diag-2012-13-tab.xlsx 2013/14 http://www.hscic.gov.uk/catalogue/PUB16719/hosp-epis-stat-admi-diag-2013-14-tab.xlsx 2014/15 http://www.hscic.gov.uk/catalogue/PUB19124/hosp-epis-stat-admi-diag-2014-15-tab.xlsx Most patients with malnutrition have other serious health problems, and malnutrition usually arises long before admission to hospital. We are taking action to help people improve their diets and make healthier choices. Advice is available through the One You campaign, Change4Life, Healthy Start scheme, Eatwell plate and NHS Choices website. In addition, everyone between the ages of 40 and 74 can have a free NHS Health Check to identify the warning signs of poor nutrition. We have also provided half million pounds funding to Age UK to reduce malnutrition among older people, and all health staff are trained to identify the early warning signs so that effective action plans can be put into place. Information on the estimate of the cost to the NHS of malnutrition amongst adults is not available centrally.

North Middlesex Hospital: Accident and Emergency Departments

Kate Osamor: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment his Department has made of the safety of care provided by North Middlesex Hospital's A&E department since its receipt of a notification of a risk summit.

Jane Ellison: Patient safety in hospitals remains a key priority for the United Kingdom and whilst progress has been made there is clearly much more to be done.We understand that on 17 February 2016, NHS England and the NHS Trust Development Authority jointly convened a Risk Summit to discuss issues identified with the quality and safety of care in the emergency department at North Middlesex University Hospital NHS Trust.All organisations present at the Risk Summit have committed to working together to reduce pressure on the emergency department and ensure patient safety.An improvement plan is now being implemented to address the quality and safety issues raised.

Cholesterol

Dr Rupa Huq: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department plans to take to ensure that data on cholesterol continues to be reported after the removal of cholesterol indicators from the Quality Outcomes Framework.

Jane Ellison: Cholesterol testing in primary care is included in the Quality Outcomes Framework for people diagnosed with hypertension and diabetes and this is published every year by the Health and Social Care Information Centre. Public Health England’s healthier lives website provides local comparisons of how well cholesterol is being controlled in people with diabetes. The link is below: http://healthierlives.phe.org.uk/topic/diabetes The Health Survey for England, an annual survey of the general population, has included measurements of total cholesterol and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol every year since 2008. The data is publically available from the UK Data Service. In addition, the National Cardiovascular Health Intelligence Network within Public Health England is working closely with organisations concerned with cardiovascular disease to take forward the recommendations in the recent Heart UK report ‘Helping Us to Beat Cholesterol’. This report focusses on the importance of data in the prevention and management of cardiovascular disease.

Kidney Diseases

Mrs Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 2 March 2016 to Question 28334, from which clinical networks and professional bodies NHS England will approach for advice; what plans he has to appoint clinical advisers in kidney care in order to continue to progress (a) the Think Kidneys programme, (b) ongoing work relating to acute kidney injury and (c) other work programmes that have been led by the National Clinical Director for Renal Disease for NHS England; and who will take over responsibility for delivering that work.

Jane Ellison: As previously set out, from 1 April 2016 NHS England will be supported by 16 National Clinical Directors (NCDs). In areas where there will no longer be a specific NCD, such as for renal disease, NHS England will secure expert clinical advice from its Clinical Networks and through its relationships with professional bodies and by appointing clinical advisors. Further details will be available shortly. The recruitment of Clinical Reference Group (CRG) Chairs, including the CRG Chair for Renal Services, is due to begin in April.Think Kidneys is scheduled to continue until the end of 2016, and a strategy for the longer term is being developed. Wider work on renal disease will be taken forward through the specialised commissioning infrastructure within NHS England and through joint working with the Royal Colleges and specialist societies.

Cholesterol

Dr Rupa Huq: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many people in (a) England and (b) Ealing Central and Acton constituency have familial hypercholesterolaemia; and what the cost to the NHS was of treatment of that condition in each of the last three years.

Jane Ellison: Information on the numbers of people with familial hypercholesterolaemia and the cost to the National Health Service of treating this condition is not collected centrally.

Neuromuscular Disorders: West Midlands

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he has taken to ensure that there are sufficient specialist consultants in post to support all children living with neuromuscular conditions in the West Midlands.

Jane Ellison: NHS England is responsible for commissioning specialised services, including neuromuscular services. In July 2013 it published Neurosciences: Specialised Neurology (Adult), which is the service specification describing the service commissioned by NHS England for patients, including children, with a neuromuscular disorder within the neurology service. It is for service providers to put in place the clinical posts and infrastructure to deliver the requirements set out in the specification for their local population.The service specification has been implemented since 1 October 2013. NHS England is working with providers to ensure they comply with the service description and standards.

Trauma

Mrs Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to implement the recommendations for trauma-focussed care outlined in the report Future in Mind.

Alistair Burt: It is important that awareness of trauma (from abuse or neglect) and the impact it can have on children and young people’s mental health is raised across the workforce and that there is clarity on roles and responsibilities. The Department has asked that Health Education England (HEE) and NHS England work together to consider the training required for the health and wider children’s workforce to become more trauma aware, building this into HEE’s work programme. Routine Enquiry (asking about experience of trauma at every appropriate health appointment for over 16 year olds) and sensitive enquiry in all children and young people’s services (which was proposed in Future in Mind) will be tested in key services shortly. However, there is still work to do to make sure we reach out to all parts of the workforce who may see the presentation of trauma in the children that they work with. Routine and sensitive enquiry by frontline health professionals such as general practitioners and mental health professionals is an important starting point, but it will be just as important to use those working in schools and the community to raise awareness more broadly and initiate learning about trauma and its impact on mental health.

Transplant Surgery

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assistance his Department provides to support groups for people who have had organ transplants.

Jane Ellison: The Department does not directly provide assistance to support groups for people who have had organ transplants. In addition to post-transplant clinical care by the transplant centre, other post-transplant support is available from a number of national and local voluntary support groups such as the British Liver Trust or local transplant recipient groups such as the St James (Leeds) Liver transplant Group. These groups offer a range of emotional and practical help for transplant recipients and their families.

Transplant Surgery

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many people have had unplanned post-operative treatment related to an organ transplant in each of the last five years.

Jane Ellison: The Department does not hold information on how many people had unplanned post-operative treatment related to an organ transplant in each of the last five years. NHS England works with NHS Blood and Transplant to jointly commission an audit on each solid organ transplant group from each service, so that detailed outcome data can be recorded and reported. These reports can be found at: http://www.odt.nhs.uk/uk-transplant-registry/organ-specific-reports/

Kidney Diseases: Yorkshire and the Humber

Paula Sherriff: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the potential effect to renal services of discontinuing support for regional improvement programmes for kidney care in strategic clinical networks in Yorkshire and the Humber.

Jane Ellison: As this is a matter for NHS England, no assessment has been made.

Hospitals: Norfolk

Sir Henry Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many unplanned admissions took place in North West Norfolk last year; and what estimate he has made of the number of such admissions this year.

Jane Ellison: NHS England publishes the number of non-elective general and acute admissions each month for National Health Service clinical commissioning groups and NHS hospital trusts. This data is published on NHS England’s website at the following address: https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/hospital-activity/montly-hospital-activity/mar-data/

Transplant Surgery

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many people have reported side-effects related to an organ transplant in each of the last five years.

Jane Ellison: Post-transplant side-effects are monitored by the transplant centre, and all serious adverse events and reactions associated with organ donation and transplantation are required to be reported to the Human Tissue Authority (HTA), in accordance with the Quality and Safety of Organs Intended for Transplantation Regulations 2012. Under these regulations, a serious adverse reaction is defined as an unintended response, including a communicable disease, in the living donor or in the transplant recipient that might be associated with any stage of the chain from donation to transplantation that is fatal, life-threatening, disabling, incapacitating, or which results in, or prolongs, hospitalisation or morbidity. The reporting of a reaction does not necessarily mean that someone involved has made a mistake. For example a donor may have an infection that was not known or indeed detectable at the time of donation. The available information is shown in the following table: Organ Donation and TransplantReported serious adverse reactions* in the United Kingdom, 2012 to 2016  2012/2013** (Q3 and Q4)2013/20142014/20152015/2016 (up to and including Q3)Serious adverse reactions5121010 Source: HTA Notes:* The data is not reflective of all side effects associated with transplantation, since they are limited only to serious adverse reactions associated with the quality and safety of the transplanted organs. ** the requirement for transplant centres to report Serious Adverse Reactions set out in Quality and Safety of Organs Intended for Transplantation Regulations 2012, commenced 27 August 2012.  NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) is responsible for investigating the reports it receives from relevant clinical personnel, and reports to the HTA incidents which meet the definition under the 2012 Regulations. It also notifies the HTA of the steps being taken to manage the reported events or reactions and provides confirmation that all actions have been concluded. NHSBT then feeds back to the clinical community to share learning and promote best practice from incidents both in the UK and across Europe. NHSBT also works with professional and patient organisations to ensure that all potential transplant recipients are given as much information as possible about the risks as well as the huge benefits of transplantation.

Transplant Surgery

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many organ transplants there have been in each of the last five years.

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many organ transplants have not been successful in each of the last five years.

Jane Ellison: The information on the number of successful and unsuccessful organ transplants performed in each of the last five years is shown in the following table. This includes single and multi-organ transplants containing kidney, pancreas, liver, heart, lung and/or intestinal from both deceased and living donors. Although deceased donor rates were lower in 2014/15, data show that deceased donor rates for 2015/16 have exceeded 2014/15 rates. The official data are due to published in summer 2016.  Organ Transplants in the United Kingdom, 1 April 2010 to 31 March 2015 Financial yearTotal number of organ transplantsNumber of unsuccessful1 transplants% unsuccessful2010/20113,7511273.4%2011/20123,9711313.3%2012/20134,2211273.0%2013/20144,6561433.1%2014/20154,4331222.8%Source: NHS Blood and Transplant Notes: 1Unsuccessful has been defined as failed within the first two weeks after transplantation. This figure is based on 98% of transplant recipients where the two week post-transplant outcome is known.

Human Papillomavirus: Vaccination

Mr Ben Bradshaw: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when he expects a decision to be announced on the contract for the supply of human papilloma virus vaccine.

Jane Ellison: The contract information for the supply for human papilloma virus vaccine to be used in the adolescent girls programme is expected to be placed into the public domain in Contracts Finder before the end of April 2016; the Contracts Finder can be found at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/contracts-finder

Blood: Donors

Mr Ben Bradshaw: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 26 February 2016 to Question 28059, whether representatives of ex-intraveneous drug users and former sex-workers will be invited to sit on the working group being formed by the Advisory Committee on the Safety of Blood, Tissues and Organs as part of its review of blood donor selection criteria.

Jane Ellison: Stakeholder representation on the Advisory Committee on the Safety of Blood Tissue and Organs’ Donor Selection Criteria Working Group consists of the Terence Higgins Trust, National Aids Trust, Patients Association, Sickle Cell Society, Thalassemia Society and the LGBT Consortium. A Stakeholder meeting is planned alongside the first meeting of the Working Group and a wider range of stakeholders is to be invited. Relevant stakeholder representatives such as former sex workers and ex-intravenous drug users will be invited to attend the Working Group when it is considering particular aspects of donor selection criteria.

Perinatal Mortality

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps the Government is taking to reduce the time taken on investigations into still births.

Ben Gummer: The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists’ Green-top Guideline 55 on Later Intrauterine Fetal Death and Stillbirth (2010) guidance for obstetricians and midwives states that all stillbirths should be reviewed in a multi-professional meeting using a standardised approach to analysis. This will enable the identification of substandard care and establish whether any future preventative measures are required. Results of the review should be discussed with the parents. The Government is investing £500,000 to develop and roll out by March 2017 a new web-based system to be used consistently across the National Health Service so staff can review and learn from every stillbirth and neonatal death. All stillbirths should also be reported to the MBRRACE-UK collaboration (Mothers and Babies: Reducing Risk through Audits and Confidential Enquiries across the UK) which undertakes national surveillance of late fetal losses, stillbirths and infant deaths.

National Food Crime Unit

Nick Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the (a) establishment and (b) running costs of the Food Crime Unit have been to date; and what resources have been allocated to that Unit in each of the next five years.

Nick Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what progress has been made on establishing an investigative capability for the Food Crime Unit.

Nick Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many prosecutions have been made as a result of information supplied by the Food Crime Unit since its creation.

Nick Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many reports of food fraud have been made to the Food Crime Unit through the official website since its creation.

Jane Ellison: The National Food Crime Unit (NFCU) is initially focusing on establishing the scale and nature of food crime in the United Kingdom at a strategic level through developing intelligence sharing relationships across the law enforcement community and with the food industry. This will also enable the Unit to instigate investigative interventions by law enforcement partners and local authorities to identify and disrupt specific instances of food crime. At the end of this year, the Food Standards Agency (FSA) will review progress on food crime, in line with Professor Elliott’s recommendations following the horsemeat incident. This review will inform decision-making about the Unit’s future form and function including the need or otherwise for the unit to establish an in-house investigative capability. Intelligence analysts within the Unit have just completed the first ever Food Crime Annual Strategic Assessment (FCASA). The FCASA sets out the Unit’s developing understanding of food crime and will drive its work to ensure resources are focused where the threat to consumers and other interests is the greatest. The NFCU receives reports of suspicions of food fraud from a number of sources via many different routes. The FSA website directs users to a dedicated email address and telephone number for reporting these suspicions. Information is also received through local authority and law enforcement partners. Information received is analysed and, where appropriate, entered onto the Unit's intelligence database. Between 1 January 2015 and 18 March 2016, 793 such records were created. Establishment costs for the NFCU were minimal as the Unit initially evolved from a small but similar capability within the FSA. Total running costs to date are in the region of £579,000. Estimated costs for the forthcoming year are £1.2 million, subject to final allocations being agreed.

Department of Health: European Social Fund

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much funding his Department received from the European Social Fund (a) between 2007 and 2014 and (b) from 2014 to the last month for which data is available.

Jane Ellison: The Department has not directly received any funding from the European Social Fund during the period stated.

Cancer: Drugs

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what measures are being taken to ensure that (a) the outcomes of NHS England's proposals for a new Cancer Drugs Fund are aligned with the Accelerated Access Review (AAR), (b) the consultation outcomes are compatible with any forthcoming AAR recommendations relating to reform of NICE and (c) those programmes deliver consistent guidance on the medicines appraisal process; and if he will make a statement.

George Freeman: NHS England and the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence are working together to develop future arrangements for the Cancer Drugs Fund, while the Accelerated Access Review (AAR) is being independently led by Sir Hugh Taylor with Office for Life Sciences’ support. The review’s final report is due to be published in the spring. Active steps are being taken to ensure that the future arrangements for the Fund and the final recommendations from the AAR are aligned.

Mental Health Services: Children and Young People

Oliver Dowden: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to paragraph 1.233 of the March 2015 Budget, how much of the £1.25 billion funding for child and adolescent mental health services has been allocated.

Oliver Dowden: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how the Government is monitoring the effects of the £1.25 billion funding for child and adolescent mental health services.

Alistair Burt: Following the March Budget 2015 announcement of £1.25 billion additional funding for children and young people's mental health services being available over the following five years, £143 million has been allocated for 2015-16. From this, £75 million has been allocated to clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) to work intensively with key partner agencies to transform local services through delivery of their Local Transformation Plans (LTPs) to improve children and young people’s mental health and wellbeing, and £68 million is being spent centrally on workforce and system development to support local transformation. For 2016-17, £119 million has been included in CCG baseline allocations. The profile of spending for future years has not yet been fully determined.The guidance for LTPs issued in August 2015, specified that plans had to be signed off by Health and Wellbeing Boards to ensure a shared ambition across all local partners, and included details of a robust bespoke assurance process for 2015-16, put in place by NHS England. This included the completion of detailed financial tracking templates, backed by a programme of regional and national support, to ensure that the additional money was spent for the purposes intended and that locally determined key performance indicators are being met. The intention from 2016-17 is to mainstream children and young people’s mental health as part of the normal NHS England planning cycle and to integrate LTPs into the new Sustainability and Transformation Plan.

Inflammatory Bowel Disease

Mrs Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate his Department has made of how many inflammatory bowel disease services offer all people who are newly diagnosed a patient education session to help them understand their condition.

Mrs Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many inflammatory bowel disease services have defined referral pathways in place to ensure that appropriate support is offered from a psychologist or counsellor with specialist knowledge of that condition.

Jane Ellison: This information is not collected. The organisation of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) services is a local matter. IBD is the collective name used to describe ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease. To support commissioners to deliver local services for people with Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) published the best practice guidance ‘Crohn’s Disease Management in Adults, Children and Young People’, in October 2012 and ‘Ulcerative Colitis Management in Adults, Children and Young People’ in June 2013. Both guidelines mention providing access to psychological support and the role it can play in patient care. In addition, patient education and patient information support are also highlighted as priorities for implementation. Commissioners should have regard to NICE guidance when delivering local services. The guidance can be found at the following links: https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/CG152/chapter/Key-priorities-for-implementation https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/cg166/chapter/Key-priorities-for-implementation

Human Papillomavirus: Vaccination

Mr Ben Bradshaw: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate he has made of the potential change in the prevalence of genital warts following the award of the contract for supply of human papillomavirus vaccine to the bivalent vaccine.

Jane Ellison: The human papilloma virus (HPV) vaccination programme was introduced in 2008, when the bivalent vaccine Cervarix was administered. From September 2012, following a competitive tender exercise, the quadrivalent vaccine Gardasil was introduced. Both protect against the two strains of HPV (HPV16 and HPV18) that cause 70% of cervical cancer. Gardasil also protects against the two HPV types that cause around 90% of all genital warts (HPV6 and HPV11). A decrease in genital warts was not anticipated for the bivalent HPV vaccine, Cervarix. An estimate of the change in prevalence of genital warts has not been carried out. However, rates of genital warts in genito-urinary medicine (GUM) clinics have declined significantly amongst the population vaccinated. Data reported to Public Health England from GUM clinics shows a reduction in rates of genital warts diagnoses at GUM clinics between 2009 and 2014 of 30.6% in 15-19 year-old females and 25.4% amongst same age heterosexual males.

Social Services: Finance

Mark Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what provision the Government has in place to provide extra funding for clinical commissioning groups to deal with increasing local pressures on social care resulting from limits on local authority resources and NHS trusts being placed on special measures.

Alistair Burt: The Better Care Fund gives flexibility to local areas to determine how best to invest a joint budget. Local authorities are required to agree with their local health partners how funding is best used within social care in order to best serve local people and reduce pressures on the health service. The total value of the Better Care Fund in 2015/16 is £5.3 billion, which includes monies provided by local authorities and health partners in 151 local areas. From April 2017, the Spending Review makes available additional social care funds for local government, rising to £1.5 billion by 2019/20, to be included in the Better Care Fund.

Autism: Children

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will respond to the petition of Isabelle Garnett on the www.change.org website, entitled Help my son get the autism care he needs.

Alistair Burt: I met Isabelle and Robin Garnett on 15 March, together with the hon. Member for Dulwich and West Norwood (Helen Hayes). I was grateful for the opportunity to discuss Matthew’s care and the broader issues of ensuring that children and young people’s mental health services are transformed using the £1.4 billion funding being made available over the lifetime of this Parliament. It is crucial that children such as Matthew get the best possible care, based on the best clinical advice at all stages, with hospital stays kept to the minimum necessary and in the most appropriate setting to meet their needs. On 22 March, Matthew transferred to a unit in Northampton where the specialist care he needs is available. I have asked the Department, with NHS England and other partners, to consider urgently how we can best learn the lessons from the experiences of Matthew and his family, including whether this case raises broader systemic issues that need to be addressed.

Primary Health Care

Charlotte Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate he has made of the proportion of government NHS funding which primary care was allocated to in each of the last three years.

Alistair Burt: The table below shows the total National Health Service expenditure and total primary healthcare expenditure for the last three years for which audited outturn data is available. This includes primary medical care, primary dental services, primary eyecare services, community pharmacy and drugs prescribed in the community.The Department accounts data has been used as a consistent data source across primary care services. However, this excludes some funding streams to general medical practice, such as for out of hours services. YearNHS Revenue Expenditure under Clear Line of Sight Rules (£ billion)Expenditure on Primary Healthcare (£ billion)Primary Healthcare Expenditure as a % of NHS Revenue Expenditure2012-13102.5721.3220.792013-14106.5021.3220.022014-15110.5621.6819.61

Social Services

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether he has made an estimate of the number of people in each of the next five years that would have received financial support as a result of the introduction of the cap on care costs proposed for April 2016 which has been postponed until April 2020.

Emma Reynolds: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many delayed transfer days in England were recorded in the NHS in each year since 2010; and what assessment his Department has made of the potential effect on the number of delayed transfer days of the introduction of the cap on social care costs in each year between 2020 and 2026.

Emma Reynolds: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate his Department has made of the number of people in each year between 2015 and 2026 who will (a) enter the social care system, (b) be affected by the cap on care costs being delayed from April 2016 until April 2020, (c) be affected by the increase in the ceiling of the means test being delayed until April 2020 and (d) be affected by the delay until April 2020 of the full introduction of the duty on local authorities under Section 18(3) of the Care Act 2014 to meet the eligible needs of self-funders in care homes; and if he will make a statement.

Emma Reynolds: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether his Department plans to (a) introduce the appeals system set out in Section 72 of the Care Act 2014 and (b) revise the current care capital limits.

Alistair Burt: The Department published an Impact Assessment of the cap on care costs system alongside a consultation on draft regulations and guidance in February 2015. This estimated that the numbers of people who would receive financial support as a result of the introduction of the cap and extensions to the means test from 2016 to 2026 would have been as follows:  2016/172017/182018/192019/202020/212021/222022/232023/242024/252025/26Additional people supported23,00024,00028,00038,00053,00064,00071,00074,00078,00081,000Number reaching the cap0019,00037,00074,000101,000115,000121,000128,000132,000 The Government remains committed to the implementation of the cap on care costs in 2020. This will offer financial protection and peace of mind to people who need care and support. In the meantime, means-tested financial support remains available for those who cannot afford to pay for care to meet their eligible needs.The capital limits, which determine how much capital a person may hold whilst receiving means-tested financial support towards their social care, will remain at their current levels for the financial year 2016/17.The Department plans to introduce the appeals system for adult social care in April 2020, alongside of the implementation of the cap on care costs.Due to concerns around the potential impact, Ministers also decided to delay the implementation of Section 18(3) of the Care Act 2014 until 2020 in line with the timetable for implementing funding reform. This will allow the Department enough time to research the likely impact of these reforms on the market and develop effective mitigations.Information on the number of delayed transfers of care is published by NHS England on a monthly basis and is available at the following link:https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/delayed-transfers-of-care/delayed-transfers-of-care-data-2015-16/- see the delayed days by responsible organisation spreadsheet.We do not have centrally held figures regarding the numbers of people who will enter the social care system in future, any impact that the cap on care costs might have on delayed transfers of care, or the numbers of people who might have asked local authorities to arrange their care under s18(3) of the Care Act 2014.

Calderstones Partnership NHS Foundation Trust

Julie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, for what reasons the Government plans to close Calderstones Partnership NHS Foundation Trust.

Julie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what plans his Department has for supporting low-security patients at Calderstones Partnership NHS Foundation Trust in reintegrating into the community if that facility is closed.

Julie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to the proposed closure of Calderstones Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, what plans the Government has for relocating medium security patients under the care of that trust.

Alistair Burt: These are matters for the National Health Service. It is for the local NHS, in conjunction with NHS England as specialised commissioners, to effect change. We are advised by NHS England that following authorisation as a foundation trust, Mersey Care NHS Trust intends to acquire Calderstones. We expect consideration of patients’ interests to be paramount. The re-provision of care will be considered on a case by case basis and we expect patients and their families to be supported throughout the transition process.

Ophthalmic Services: Children

Matthew Pennycook: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many outpatient (a) ophthalmology, (b) medical ophthalmology, (c) optometry and (d) orthoptic appointments for children under 19 years of age took place in 2014-15.

Alistair Burt: The information is shown in the following table. Information on outpatient ophthalmology, medical ophthalmology, optometry and orthoptic appointments for patients under 19 years of age in 2014-15. Appointments Treatment specialityAttended first appointmentsAttended appointmentsAll appointmentsOphthalmology56,665507,665701,351Medical Ophthalmology9,21926,101 32,119Optometry4,0298,00911,062Orthoptics57,108269,882394,663Source: Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), Health and Social Care Information Centre Notes:The table contains the number of booked appointments for outpatients. They are recorded as one row per appointment that was made, whether it was attended or not. A patient's treatment in outpatients can consist of a series of appointments; a distinction between the first in the series and subsequent appointments is commonly reported.

Dairy Products

Ms Margaret Ritchie: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what involvement Ministers of his Department had in the decision by Public Health England to reduce the recommended amount of dairy in the Eatwell guide; for what reasons that change was made; and if he will make a statement.

Jane Ellison: The Government has adopted the refreshed Eatwell Guide, which reflects updated government dietary recommendations based upon conclusions from the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition, robust modelling and consumer research. An external reference group informed the development of the Eatwell Guide and representatives from the Department were observer members of this group. The approach considered the most objective and robust by the reference group to inform the sizes of the food group segments, ensured that all government dietary recommendations were met. This resulted in a new image with a reduced ‘dairy and alternatives’ segment, which will support consumers to reduce saturated fat and salt consumption, while still meeting calcium recommendations. Ministers agreed to the final version of the Eatwell Guide prior to publication and were briefed during the course of the work.

Mental Health Services

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps Public Health England has taken in conjunction with the National Public Health Workforce Advisory Group to implement the public mental health leadership and workforce development framework, published in March 2015.

Jane Ellison: Since publication, Public Health England (PHE) has worked with national partners and with local authorities to co-ordinate implementation of the public mental health leadership and workforce development (PMHLWD) framework. Twenty national partners have signed the Call to Action to implement the framework.PHE is working closely with Health Education England (HEE) to incorporate the PMHLWD framework into the forthcoming Mental Health Skills and Knowledge Framework (commissioned by the Department). It has been cited in the Mental Health Task Force report and PHE will continue to work with HEE to implement the PMHLWD framework’s priorities via the Task Force and Future in Mind working groups.PHE has incorporated the PMHLWD framework into the revised Public Health Skills and Knowledge Framework, the review of the future workforce and its wider workforce programme. This has included integrating mental health and wellbeing into the Making Every Contact Count programme.PHE has supported delivery via local public mental health networks joint commissioning of training, collating examples of training programmes, developing e-learning modules and delivering local workshops and presentations.

Human-animal Hybrid Embryos

Fiona Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will take steps to ensure that all applications to the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) for a licence to carry out research using human admixed embryos are published on the HFEA website with a description of the research proposed.

Jane Ellison: It is for the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) to decide what information it places on its website. The HFEA has advised that it is reviewing its publication policy in readiness for the launch of its new website in summer 2016.

Mental Health Services

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of changes to Health Education England funding on training in (a) child psychotherapy, (b) clinical psychotherapy; and on the Improving Access to Psychological Therapies programme.

Ben Gummer: Higher Education training in child psychotherapy, clinical psychotherapy and Improving Access to Psychological Therapies is not currently eligible for NHS Bursary funding and, as such, is not subject to the healthcare education funding reforms. The Government will be consulting shortly on healthcare education funding reform as announced in the November 2015 Spending Review and respondents to the consultation may wish to raise issues relating to courses operated outside of the remit of these reforms. The Government will consider these in the context of its consultation response. Health Education England (HEE) funding for psychological therapy training is currently determined at a local level based on local need. For 2016-17 HEE will fund those commissions set out in the HEE Commissioning and Investment Plan for 2016-17 which was published in December 2015. HEE’s plans for training child psychotherapists, clinical psychotherapists and Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (low intensity and high intensity practitioners) remain unchanged from 2015-16, with 43, 526 and 946 proposed commissions respectively.

Mental Illness

Michelle Donelan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what support is provided to GPs to inform them of the research related to and treatments for people with mental health conditions.

Alistair Burt: The Health Education England (HEE) Mandate for 2015-16 reported that “HEE, working with the Royal College of Psychiatrists and Royal College of General Practitioners has developed an e-learning package to support continuing professional development for GPs in mental health ensuring that GPs have ready access to the most up to date knowledge available in this vitally important area of health care. This will enable recognition of mental illness and access to the right care pathway including improving access to psychological therapies and specialist mental health services.”Further information can be found at:http://www.e-lfh.org.uk/programmes/mental-health-awareness-programme/more-information/

Vale of York Clinical Commissioning Group

Nigel Adams: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the per capita funding for the Vale of York Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) is in 2015-16; and what the equivalent funding is for each of that CCG's 10 most similar CCG's.

Alistair Burt: The table below shows the NHS Vale of York Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) funding per capita allocation for 2015-16. CCG  Per capita allocation, 2015-16 £NHS Vale of York CCG  1,079 The table below shows the same information as above for the 10 most similar CCGs to NHS Vale of York CCG, determined using the NHS England Commissioning for Value online tool. CCG  Per capita allocation, 2015-16 £NHS West Leicestershire CCG  1,041NHS Lincolnshire West CCG  1,145NHS East Riding Of Yorkshire CCG  1,177NHS Bath And North East Somerset CCG  1,062NHS South Worcestershire CCG  1,069NHS Guildford And Waverley CCG  1,033NHS West Cheshire CCG  1,213NHS North East Essex CCG  1,215NHS South Warwickshire CCG  1,090NHS Canterbury And Coastal CCG  1,120  Sources:2015-16 CCG allocations are published on the NHS England website as Annex B to the Allocations publication letter 2015-16, available at: https://www.england.nhs.uk/resources/resources-for-ccgs/#finance. The 10 most similar CCGs are from Commissioning for Value resources available at: https://www.england.nhs.uk/resources/resources-for-ccgs/comm-for-value/. Note:There are many reasons why allocations for similar CCGs differ. These include differences in demographics, deprivation, distance from target and the Market Forces Factor.

Brain: Tumours

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much funding his Department has provided for public information campaigns on brain tumours in children and young people in each year since 2010.

Jane Ellison: Public Health England’s ‘Be Clear on Cancer’ campaigns do not currently include brain tumours. The campaigns aim to raise awareness of the signs and symptoms of specific cancers, and to encourage those with symptoms to see their doctor promptly. The decision on which cancers should be the focus of ‘Be Clear on Cancer’ campaigns is informed by a steering group, whose members include primary and secondary care clinicians, and key voluntary sector organisations. A number of factors are taken into account when deciding which campaigns to develop and run, with one of the main criteria being the scope to save lives through earlier diagnosis and whether the cancer has a clear early sign or symptom that the general public can act upon should it arise.

Epilepsy

Mr Geoffrey Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what plans his Department has for the next National Clinical Audit of avoidable deaths in relation to epilepsy.

Jane Ellison: The Healthcare Quality Improvement Partnership commissions, develops and manages the National Clinical Audit and Patient Outcomes Programme (NCAPOP), on behalf of NHS England, Wales and other devolved administrations. Whilst there is no specific audit planned that covers all cases of deaths from epilepsy, the following NCAPOP audits and reviews are of relevance:- The audit for paediatric epilepsy, which is being re-commissioned this year, covers the quality of health care services for children and young people with epilepsy in the UK. The audit is managed by the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH) and the first audit report can be found at the following link:www.rcpch.ac.uk/news/variation-care-children-epilepsy-revealed-first-uk-wide-audit;- The 2013 review report into cases of mortality and prolonged seizures in children and young people with epilepsies that was managed by the RCPCH. The report is available at the following link:www.rcpch.ac.uk/child-health-reviews-uk/programme-findings/programme-findings-chr-uk;- The recently commissioned national mortality case record review programme for England and Scotland which aims to improve understanding and learning about problems in care that may have contributed to a patient’s death:www.rcplondon.ac.uk/news/rcp-hosts-pioneering-national-mortality-case-record-review-programme- The maternal, newborn and infant clinical outcome review programme will be undertaking a review of cases of mortality and morbidity for pregnant women with severe epilepsy that will report in December 2017. This will be carried out by MBRRACE-UK at The University of Oxford. Further information can be found at the following link:www.npeu.ox.ac.uk/mbrrace-uk/topic-proposals

Eyesight: Testing

Jo Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to support people with (a) ocular melanoma and (b) other eye conditions with the financial cost of eye tests.

Alistair Burt: Free National Health Service sight tests are available from primary care optometrists to a wide range of patients. These include people diagnosed with glaucoma or diabetes or who are at risk of glaucoma, children, people aged 60 and over, people registered as sight-impaired or blind or who need complex lenses, and adults on certain income-related benefits or who qualify for full assistance under the NHS Low Income scheme.No NHS charges apply to patients being treated in a secondary care setting for the investigation or management of an eye condition, which would include individuals with suspected or diagnosed ocular melanoma.

Allergies

Stephen McPartland: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what plans he has to improve access to immunotherapy for the long-term management of allergic disease.

Stephen McPartland: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he plans to take to ensure that clinical commissioning groups implement the NICE guideline on diagnosis of food allergy in children and young people in a primary care setting.

Jane Ellison: The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) clinical guideline, ‘Food allergy in children and young people’, published in 2011, sets out best practice on the care treatment and support for children and young people with food allergy. NICE clinical guidelines are designed to support health care professionals in their work, and commissioners should consider them when developing local services, but they do not replace the knowledge, skills and experience of clinicians in deciding how best to manage patients. Immunotherapy for the long-term management of allergic disease may be provided as part of the NHS England’s nationally commissioned specialised allergy service. NHS England has set out what these providers must have in place to offer high quality specialised allergy care, ensuring equity of access to patients wherever they live. Around 0.1% of people with allergies in the United Kingdom, some 20,000 people, are likely to require referral to a specialist centre. NHS England’s allergy service specification, which provides more information about specialised allergy services, can be viewed at the following link: www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/b09-spec-allergy.pdf

Allergies

Stephen McPartland: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he plans to take to improve GP training on the identification, diagnosis and management of allergic diseases.

Ben Gummer: It is the responsibility of the General Medical Council (GMC), working closely with the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP), to set the standards and clinical practice for general practitioners and approve education and training curricula to ensure they are equipped with the knowledge, skills and attitudes to provide high quality patient care. The GMC and the RCGP regularly review their standards and curricula to ensure they reflect good practice and the latest clinical evidence.

Brain: Tumours

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will make it his Department's policy to ensure that brain tumour symptom cards are distributed to child health clinics and health visitors.

Jane Ellison: The Department has highlighted the value of the Headsmart awareness raising materials with Directors of Public Health, health visitors and school nurses, to encourage their use by professionals in signposting to specialist advice if needed. The Department and Public Health England will continue to liaise with health professionals to increase awareness of brain tumours.

Brain: Tumours

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much his Department spent on research into brain tumours in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement.

George Freeman: The information requested is not available. Spend on research funded directly by the Department’s National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) is categorised by Health Research Classification System (HRCS) health categories including ‘cancer’. There are no HRCS health sub-categories, such as for brain tumours or other cancer sites. Investment in cancer research by the NIHR has risen from £101 million in 2010/11 to £135 million in 2014/15. The NIHR works closely with patients, charities and our world-leading life sciences industry to support further research into brain tumours.

Maternity Services

Will Quince: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what plans he has to ensure that NHS maternity units improve their safety records.

Ben Gummer: In November 2015 the Government announced a national ambition to halve by 2030 the rates of stillbirths, neonatal and maternal deaths and brain injuries occurring during or soon after birth.To support the National Health Service in achieving this ambition more than 90 trusts have received additional funding as part of a £2.24 million fund to spend on equipment to improve safety, over £1 million to roll out training programmes to make sure staff have the skills and confidence they need to deliver world-leading safe care, and £500,000 to develop, a new online system that can be used consistently across the NHS to enable staff to review and learn from every stillbirth and neonatal death.The announcement also committed to publishing an annual report to update the public, health professionals, providers and commissioners on the progress we are making towards achieving the ambition. We also welcome the publication of the NHS England Independent Review of Maternity Services. The recommendations will have an important role in shaping the system to drive ambitious improvements in quality and safety.On 7 March we launched Sign up to Safety - ‘Spotlight on Maternity,’ a guidance document that asks all trusts with maternity services to commit publically to placing a spotlight on maternity and to contributing towards achieving the Government’s national ambition.

Mental Health Services

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what progress Public Health England is making on its development of a wellbeing and mental health leadership support programme.

Jane Ellison: Public Health England (PHE) has focused on building leadership for wellbeing and mental health via its Public Mental Health programme. This has ranged from delivering high profile presentations to key national stakeholders to facilitating local support networks for public health staff working in local authorities. PHE has also supported the development of local leadership via the Local Authority Member Champions support programme. Through its partnership with the What Works Centre for Wellbeing PHE is developing leadership for wellbeing through a series of webinars and development opportunities. Internally, the PHE wellbeing champions programme has developed staff leadership in workplace wellbeing. Wellbeing and mental health leadership has been incorporated into the forthcoming report on Fit for the Future: a review of public health workforce.

Health Education England

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what plans he has for the successor body to Health Education England for the commissioning for non-medical education.

Ben Gummer: The Government, through Health Education England, will retain the responsibility for commissioning and funding the minimum numbers of clinical placements assessed as required to produce sufficient healthcare graduates for the National Health Service.

Motor Vehicles: Smoking

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions he has had with the Home Secretary and Secretary of State for Justice on establishing effective processes to allow fixed penalty notices to be issued to people smoking in cars with children present and the associated fines to be collected.

Jane Ellison: Officials discussed the development of the regulations relating to smoking in private vehicles carrying children with the relevant government departments and continue to discuss enforcement of the offences on an ongoing basis.

General Practitioners: Leeds East

Richard Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many GP surgeries have a capped patient list in Leeds East constituency.

Alistair Burt: This data is not collected centrally.

Medicine: Education

Royston Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department plans to take after the new terms and conditions for doctors come into effect to encourage people to take up a career in medicine.

Ben Gummer: Medicine is an extremely popular career choice and we expect that to continue. In 2015, there were over 48,000 applications for pre-clinical medicine course of which over 5,000 people were accepted onto a place on this course. The new contract for doctors in training will have a positive impact on the working life of doctors and on the training they receive. It will introduce stronger safeguards to ensure doctors are not required to work long, unsafe hours, enforced through contractual obligations on employers and external scrutiny of those hours by the Care Quality Commission and the independent Guardian of safe working hours.

Dairy Products

Neil Parish: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the rationale was for the reduction in the dairy food group from 15 to eight per cent in the revised Eatwell Guide; and on what scientific evidence the new recommendations on dairy consumption are based.

Jane Ellison: The Government has adopted the refreshed Eatwell Guide which reflects updated government dietary recommendations based upon conclusions from the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition, robust modelling and consumer research. It shows the proportions of the different types of foods and drinks we should consume to have a healthy, balanced diet. An external reference group was convened to inform the development of the Eatwell Guide. Members from health, voluntary sector and industry were invited, including trade and levy organisations. Linear programming, the approach considered the most objective and robust by the reference group to inform the sizes of the food group segments, ensured all government dietary recommendations were met, including that for calcium. This analysis resulted in a new image with a reduced ‘dairy and alternatives’ segment, which will support consumers to reduce saturated fat and salt consumption, while still meeting calcium recommendations.

Epilepsy: Death

Dawn Butler: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to the findings in the Epilepsy Society's report, Premature mortality and avoidable deaths in epilepsy, published in March 2016, on the proportion of sudden and unexpected epilepsy-related deaths that were avoidable with appropriate treatment and better access to speciality care, if he will commission a National Clinical Audit on epilepsy-related deaths.

Jane Ellison: The Healthcare Quality Improvement Partnership commissions, develops and manages the National Clinical Audit and Patient Outcomes Programme (NCAPOP), on behalf of NHS England, Wales and other devolved administrations. Whilst there is no specific audit planned that covers all cases of epilepsy related deaths, the following NCAPOP audits and reviews are of relevance: - The audit for paediatric epilepsy, which is being re-commissioned this year, covers the quality of health care services for children and young people with epilepsy in the United Kingdom. The audit is managed by the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH) and the first audit report can be found at the following link: www.rcpch.ac.uk/news/variation-care-children-epilepsy-revealed-first-uk-wide-audit - The 2013 review report into cases of mortality and prolonged seizures in children and young people with epilepsies that was managed by the RCPCH. The report is available at the following link: www.rcpch.ac.uk/child-health-reviews-uk/programme-findings/programme-findings-chr-uk - The recently commissioned national mortality case record review programme for England and Scotland which aims to improve understanding and learning about problems in care that may have contributed to a patient’s death: www.rcplondon.ac.uk/news/rcp-hosts-pioneering-national-mortality-case-record-review-programme - The maternal, newborn and infant clinical outcome review programme will be undertaking a review of cases of mortality and morbidity for pregnant women with severe epilepsy that will report in December 2017. This will be carried out by MBRRACE-UK at The University of Oxford. Further information can be found at the following link: www.npeu.ox.ac.uk/mbrrace-uk/topic-proposals

Health Services

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to point three on page six of Public mental health leadership and workforce development framework: executive summary, published in March 2015, what specific action Public Health England has taken to inform the review of the UK Public Health Skills and Knowledge Framework.

Jane Ellison: Public Health England has used its Public Mental Health Leadership and Workforce Development Framework to inform its review of the Public Health Skills and Knowledge Framework. This has involved consideration of public mental health competencies, combined with further feedback from stakeholders through a consultation process with input from local authorities and partner organisations.

Diabetes: Leicestershire

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment his Department has made of the potential effect of Spirit Healthcare's Empower programme on inequalities in diabetes care across Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland.

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment his Department has made of the potential effect of Spirit Healthcare's Empower type 2 diabetes education programme on uptake of structured education by diabetics in Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland.

Jane Ellison: NHS England advises that the three clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) in Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland decided to commission a diabetes education programme collectively from April 2016 to ensure that diabetes care was being provided equitably across the area. The diabetes education programme was put out to tender and Spirit Healthcare was the successful bidder with its EMPOWER programme.The EMPOWER programme, which is based on National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidelines, is designed to reduce inequalities in Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland. The procurement was overseen by an Equality Lead from the CCGs to ensure patients’ needs were being met.The CCGs will be monitoring the delivery of the contract and the uptake of the course. The service has been procured on the basis of a standard National Health Service contract and will be monitored according to the Quality Schedule within that. Additional quality measures will also be regularly evaluated such as patient experience, Friends and Family Test, course attendance and feedback from clinical leads.

Diabetes: Health Education

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether his Department plans that Spirit Healthcare's type 2 diabetes education programme will provide education for those with established diabetes.

Jane Ellison: Clinical commissioning groups are responsible for making decisions on the commissioning and funding of local services, such as structured education programmes, to meet the health needs of their local population, taking into account issues of safety, clinical and cost effectiveness.

Diabetes: Leicestershire

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment his Department has made of the relative accessibility of (a) Spirit Healthcare's Empower type 2 diabetes education course and (b) the DESMOND programme for diabetes patients in Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland.

Jane Ellison: The Department has made no such assessment.NHS England advises that Spirit Healthcare’s Empower course will be as accessible as the current DESMOND programme. The Empower course will be available in a range of locations across Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland, including general practitioner practices, community centres and faith venues. The provider will be responsive to demand and local need to ensure that the courses are offered where required by patients and referring health care professionals.

Diabetes: Leicestershire

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, in which areas other than Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland Spirit Healthcare's Empower type 2 diabetes education programme is expected to be implemented.

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many (a) DESMOND and (b) DAFNE programmes, in which areas, are provided by clinical commissioning groups in England.

Jane Ellison: This information is not held centrally.

Medicine: Education

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 7 March 2016 to Question 28925, if his Department will begin collecting information on the proportion of foreign graduates who take up employment in the NHS; and if he will bring forward legislative proposals to ensure that the public purse receives value for money when subsidising medicine degrees for foreign nationals.

Ben Gummer: The Department has no current plans to collect information on the numbers of foreign medical graduates who take up employment in the National Health Service.Non-European Economic Area (EEA) nationals pay full tuition fees when studying medicine in the United Kingdom and make a contribution to the UK economy. The Government has no current plans to introduce legislation to secure better value for money from non-EEA nationals studying medicine in the UK.

HIV Infection

Mike Freer: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what mechanisms are in place to monitor the use of HIV innovation funding; and when he plans to (a) conduct and (b) publish his review of the projects that have received such funding.

Jane Ellison: In November 2015, the HIV Prevention Innovation fund announced one year’s funding for seven projects led by voluntary sector organisations. Project funding included an allocation for monitoring and evaluation of their activities and projects have been asked to submit regular monitoring reports to Public Health England. Projects will be asked to report the outcome of their work at the end of their contract. These results will be combined into a single report, which will draw out and highlight important learning from all projects, to be presented and published before the end of the 2016/17 financial year.

Screening: Prisoners

Sir David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment his Department has made of whether his target of implementing opt-out testing for blood-borne viruses in every adult prison in England by the end of financial year 2016-17 will be met.

Ben Gummer: The blood-borne virus (BBV) opt-out testing programme for people in prisons in England is a shared priority for Public Health England (PHE), NHS England and the National Offender Management Service. Programme implementation is overseen by a ‘tripartite’ Task-and-Finish Group which includes third sector and patient voice representation. The roll-out of the programme is informed by phased implementation and evaluation of ‘pathfinder prisons’ over three phases. Phase 1 began on 1 April 2014 and the formal evaluation was published on May 21 2015. Phase 2 pathfinder prisons began implementation from April 2015, with Phase 3 Pathfinders implementing from September 2015. BBV opt-out testing is not limited to only those prisons formally in the pathfinder programme.NHS England estimates that currently 60% of the adult prison estate in England are offering opt-out testing and are confident that the target of implementation in every adult prison in England will be achieved by the end of the financial year 2016-17.

Screening: Prisoners

Sir David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether he has taken steps to provide national guidance to ensure that healthcare and wider staff in prisons are given adequate levels of training around blood-borne viruses as recommended by The Hepatitis C Trust's recent report, The blood-borne virus opt-out testing policy for prisons in England: An analysis of need towards full implementation, published on 3 March 2016.

Ben Gummer: Implementation of opt-out testing for blood-borne viruses (BBVs) in all adult prisons in England in a shared priority for Public Health England (PHE), NHS England and the National Offender Management Service as published in our second National Partnership Agreement for 2015-16.To support implementation, PHE and its partners, including The Hepatitis C Trust among other third sector organisations, have developed a broad range of range of resources to support prison healthcare teams. These include information leaflets and posters, testing algorithms, web-based and DVD resources which cover all aspects of prevention, diagnosis and treatment of Hepatitis C and other BBVs to support prison healthcare teams in offering testing, managing both positive and negative results, providing advice on harm minimisation and supporting people into treatment.

Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

Department for Business, Innovation and Skills: Pay

Louise Haigh: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what the average salary is of officials at (a) Senior Civil Service and (b) all other grades at (i) St Paul's Place, Sheffield and (ii) 1 Victoria Street, London.

Joseph Johnson: Holding answer received on 04 March 2016



The information sought by the hon Member is attached.



Average salary
(PDF Document, 168.11 KB)

Sunday Trading: Conditions of Employment

Jim McMahon: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, if he will make an assessment  of the potential effect of the proposed extension of Sunday trading hours on the pay and conditions of retail workers.

Anna Soubry: In view of the will of the House, we are no longer proposing to give local authorities the ability to extend the Sunday trading hours of large shops.

UK Membership of EU

Mr Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, with reference to page 15 of the Government's publication, The Process of withdrawing from the European Union, CM 9216, for what reason the rights and obligations which the UK currently has with other non-EU WTO members would not subsist when the UK leaves the EU.

Anna Soubry: As set out in Cm 9216, in the event that we leave the EU, we would need to update the terms of our WTO membership where the commitments taken have previously applied to the EU as a whole. This would not be a straightforward process as, if we leave the EU, then we would need all other WTO Members to agree how the UK will take on the rights and obligations which we have formerly taken as part of the EU. This would mean submitting UK schedules and, until this process was completed, there could be questions surrounding our rights to access WTO members’ markets, and our ability to enforce those rights. These issues are also addressed in the Government publication, Alternatives to Membership: possible models for the United Kingdom outside the European Union.

Consumers: Protection

Nick Thomas-Symonds: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what steps he is taking to ensure that non-approved, sub-standard or fake safety products are not sold or passed on to the consumer.

Nick Boles: Holding answer received on 14 March 2016



Product safety legislation is in place to protect consumers, and is enforced by Trading Standards, who also enforce prohibitions against giving false information about products under the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008. Where safety products bear a false trade mark, or deliberately copy a registered design, Trading Standards also have the ability to take enforcement action under intellectual property legislation. The Consumer Rights Act 2015 sets out the standards consumers can expect of the goods they obtain from traders and remedies if these rights are breached. The standards include the need for goods to be of satisfactory quality (including being fit for the purposes for which goods of that kind are usually supplied, being safe, and matching any description the goods were sold under), fit for a particular purpose (if that purpose was made known before sale), and as described . If these requirements are breached, consumers are entitled to reject the goods (if in the first 30 days), or require the trader to repair or replace the goods. Consumers can seek advice from the helpline run by Citizen’s Advice which offers a free service advising them on their rights and passes on details of complaints to Trading Standards where appropriate.

Department for Business, Innovation and Skills: Sick Leave

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many officials in his Department took sick leave for reasons relating to stress in each of the last five years; and what proportion of (a) his Department's staff and (b) total sick leave such sick leave was in each such year.

Joseph Johnson: Holding answer received on 14 March 2016



The number of officials in the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills, including UKTI, who were absent for reasons relating to stress are shown in the table below.  Number of people with a stress related absenceNumber of people with a stress related absence as a % of total headcountTotal number of working days lost due to stress related absence as a % of total absence2015521.62%21.8%2014501.42%14.1%2013671.91%19.6%2012882.85%24.9%2011842.68%18.6%

Business: Billing

Will Quince: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what steps his Department is taking to tackle late payment to businesses.

Anna Soubry: The Government remains committed to tackling late payment. We are creating the Small Business Commissioner, whose primary function will be to tackle and change the culture of late payment. We are already seeing some of the larger supermarkets and retailers offering considerably better payment terms to small businesses. Larger companies will have a duty to report on payment practices and performance from October.

Business: EU Law

Mrs Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what estimate he has made of the annual cost to UK businesses of implementing EU harmonised legislation.

Anna Soubry: The Government produces Impact Assessments that set out the impacts to business of legislation. These are published on the LEGISLATION.GOV.UK website.The UK has one of the lightest regulatory regimes in the OECD. The Netherlands, also in the EU, has the lightest. The European Commission has already reformed its approach to regulation, reducing the number of new initiatives proposed in its annual work programmes by over 80 per cent since 2014.As part of the UK’s settlement with the EU, the European Commission is now committed to reviewing the burden of regulation each year, looking in particular at cutting red tape for small businesses. For the first time ever, specific targets to reduce costs for businesses will be introduced in the most burdensome areas.

ACAS: Arbitration

Tulip Siddiq: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many arbitration proceedings were started by Acas (a) in each employment sector and (b) relating to each topic on its database in each year since 2009-10.

Nick Boles: The table below provides details of Acas collective arbitrations between 2009-10 and 2014-15 broken down by employment sector and topic: 2009/102010/112011/122012/132013/142014/15Total arbitrations443121171519By sector:  Aerospace102002Clothing010000Education330000Energy241191097Engineering000101Food000100Health101000Law000100Logistics054103Manufacturing000012Media110000Other000030Ports and Shipping000002Public243212Retail520100Security120000Transport222000Waste100000Logistics300010   By topic:  Annual pay1382426Other pay / employment conditions628112Dismissal / Discipline2411810810Grading022000Other181241

Higher Education: Ethnic Groups

Danny Kinahan: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, if he will take steps to tackle the lower expected offer rate to Asian, Black, Mixed and Other ethnic groups higher education applicants.

Joseph Johnson: My right hon. Friend the Prime Minister has set a goal of increasing by 20% the number of BME students in higher education by 2020. Entry rates for 18 year olds in each ethnic group increased in 2015, reaching the highest recorded values for each group. Between 2009 and 2015, the entry rate for young people in the Black ethnic group increased by over 40 percent proportionally. The Government has introduced a number of policies, including those set out below, to achieve my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister’s goal.We recently announced that universities would be required to publish admissions and retention rate by gender, ethnic background and disadvantage. Greater transparency will expose where offer rates for students from the poorest and black and minority backgrounds are particularly low and help to encourage universities to take further action.In addition, UCAS are consulting on making applications to university name-blind from 2017 to make sure that everyone, no matter what their background, is treated equally.I have asked Universities UK to establish an expert advisory group on social mobility to provide further advice in this area.

Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership: Scotland

Ms Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, whether (a) legal costs and (b) compensatory payments resulting from investor state dispute settlement claims relating to acts by the Scottish local authorities would be passed onto those local authorities; and if he will make a statement.

Anna Soubry: The Government would typically be responsible for legal costs incurred and compensatory payments awarded by an ISDS tribunal resulting from acts by UK local authorities. There is no specific mechanism in place for the UK Government to pass any such costs or payments to Scottish local authorities. The UK has a good record of creating the right environment for investors and treating them fairly – we have over 90 such agreements in place with other countries and there has never been a successful ISDS claim brought against the UK.

Post Offices: Franchises

Kate Osamor: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment his Department has made of the potential effect of the Post Office's franchising plans on local communities.

George Freeman: Franchising plans for its directly managed Crown post offices is the operational responsibility of Post Office Limited.The Post Office’s aim in seeking franchise partners for some of its Crown branches is to ensure continued access to Post Office services for customers in local communities on a sustainable basis going forward. Over 97% of the network already operates through agency or franchise branches and the change from a Crown to a franchise branch has been undertaken previously in many locations across the UK and is a successful way of sustaining Post Office services in those areas.

Equality

Kate Osamor: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what steps he is taking to tackle economic inequality among black and minority ethnic communities.

Nick Boles: Ensuring people from black and minority ethnic (BME) backgrounds can find work and progress through the labour market is an important step in tackling economic inequality. The Government has embarked on an ambitious programme to increase opportunity in the labour market for all those from BME backgrounds. This includes increasing employment rates, improving access to universities and ensuring more people from BME backgrounds start an apprenticeship.As part of this, my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills is chairing a new Inter-Ministerial Group tasked with improving opportunity and progression in the labour market for those from BME backgrounds. The Government has also asked Baroness Ruby McGregor-Smith to undertake a review into the obstacles faced by BME groups in the labour market, from recruitment through to the executive level. This will complement Sir John Parker’s review considering BME representation at the very highest levels of business.

Exports: Government Assistance

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, with reference to Best in Class, published by the CBI in December 2015, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of Swedish four box grid approach to analysing the attractiveness of international markets.

Anna Soubry: In CBI’s Best in Class report, the reference to the Swedish four box grid approach was part of a wider recommendation on allocating overseas resources for business support.The UK Government recognises that it has a crucial role to play in supporting businesses that export and invest in international markets.The Government is committed to focusing UK Trade and Investment (UKTI) overseas resources for business support in those markets that can deliver greatest benefit for the UK. UKTI uses similar publicly-available market data to Sweden (including GDP growth, political risk and the ease of doing business) in its assessment of export markets, but importantly this is just one input into the opportunity-focused, five-year rolling business planning process being developed to guide resource decisions.

Audit: Tax Avoidance

Kelvin Hopkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, if he will bring forward legislative proposals to ban auditors from selling tax avoidance schemes to their audit clients.

Anna Soubry: The new EU Audit Regulation (537/2014) prohibits the provision of tax services by audit firms to their audit clients. This includes services relating to tax avoidance. The prohibition will apply where those audit clients are banks, building societies, insurers and issuers of shares or debt securities on a regulated market in the EU (e.g. the main market of the London Stock Exchange). The Regulation was agreed by the European Parliament and the Council in 2014 and will apply from 17 June 2016.

Environment Protection: Investment

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, pursuant to the Answer of 4 February 2016 to Question 24571, what other government policy mechanisms are in place aimed at promoting high-risk green investment.

Anna Soubry: As set out in my answer of 4 February 2016 to Question 24571, this information can be found in paragraphs 31 – 36 of our November 2015 policy statement on the future of the UK Green Investment Bank (GIB) which can be found on the GIB pages of the GOV.UK website.

Digital Technology: EU Internal Trade

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many jobs his Department estimates would be created by the completion of the Digital Single Market.

Mr Edward Vaizey: The Department has made no estimation of the number of jobs that would be created by the Digital Single Market. According to the European Parliament, completing the Digital Single Market could add €415bn or around 3% to the EU’s GDP.

Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership: NHS

Martyn Day: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, if the Prime Minister will take steps to secure exclusion of the NHS from the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership by way of a blanket exemption within the main text of that agreement.

Anna Soubry: The Government has always been clear that protecting the NHS is of the utmost importance for the UK. We believe, as does the European Commission, that provisions in the current texts of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) achieve this protection.Over several decades the UK and EU have signed numerous trade agreements. These treaties have helped both UK and EU businesses grow and create high quality jobs. They have also ensured that it remains for the UK to decide how our public services are run.TTIP will be no different. Decisions on how to deliver public services for the best outcomes for UK citizens are and will be made by UK governments, not our trade partners. The Prime Minister, the European Commission and the US Government have all confirmed this. The NHS is not at risk from TTIP or any other trade and investment agreement.

Apprentices

Steve Rotheram: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what the average length of time was that an apprentice stayed on an apprenticeship in 2015.

Steve Rotheram: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what the average length was of apprenticeships in the construction, planning and the built environment sector in 2015.

Nick Boles: Estimates of the average length of Apprenticeships, overall and by Sector Subject Area, are published as a supplementary table (first link) to a Statistical First Release (second link). Latest published data in this table is for the 2013/14 academic year. Data for 2014/15 will be published at the same link in due course.https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/464924/apprenticeships-average-length-of-stay.xlshttps://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/learner-participation-outcomes-and-level-of-highest-qualification-held

Department for Business, Innovation and Skills: European Social Fund

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how much funding his Department received from the European Social Fund (a) between 2007 and 2014 and (b) from 2014 to the last month for which data is available.

Nick Boles: The Skills Funding Agency (and its predecessor, the Learning and Skills Council) is a co-financing organisation for the European Social Fund in England. It received £1,494,936,801.00 between January 2007 and December 2013 and £485,027,046.00 from January 2014 to December 2015, a total of £1,979,963,847.00. The money was used to support skills projects across England.For the 2014-2020 Programme in England the Skills Funding Agency has put in place funding agreements with Local Enterprise Partnerships to the value of £725m from the European Social Fund.

Coal: Russia

Rebecca Pow: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, which coal mining projects in Russia have been supported by UK Export Finance since 2011.

Anna Soubry: Holding answer received on 23 March 2016



   UK Export Finance has supported five coal mining projects in Russia since 2011, as follows: Exporter nameBuyer nameFinancial year in which support agreedJoy Global (UK) LtdSiberian Coal & Energy Company2011/12Joy Global (UK) LtdMechel Mining OAO2011/12Joy Global (UK) LtdSiberian Coal & Energy Company2012/13Joy Global (UK) LtdSiberian Coal & Energy Company2012/13Joy Global (UK) LtdSiberian Coal & Energy Company2012/13

Coal: Export Credit Guarantees

Rebecca Pow: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, which coal mining projects are being supported by UK Export Finance.

Anna Soubry: Holding answer received on 23 March 2016



UK Export Finance is currently providing support to five coal mining projects, as follows: Exporter nameBuyer nameJoy Global (UK) LtdSiberian Coal & Energy CompanyJoy Global (UK) LtdMechel Mining OAOJoy Global (UK) LtdSiberian Coal & Energy CompanyJoy Global (UK) LtdSiberian Coal & Energy CompanyJoy Global (UK) LtdSiberian Coal & Energy Company

Business: Billing

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what proportion of UK firms was owed money for late payments in each of the last ten years.

Anna Soubry: The Department does not hold the information required to make an estimate of proportion of UK firms owed money for late payments in each of the last ten years. As late payment affects so many different types of business in different ways, no single survey gives a full picture of the impact of late payment on businesses. The three sources that we look to as an indicator of late payment are the SME finance monitor, the regular BACs survey and Experian’s late payment index. BACS data shows that small and medium businesses were owed a total of £26.8 billion as at June 2015, and the average small business is waiting for £31,900 in overdue payments.The Government recognises that late payment remains an important issue for small businesses in the UK and is taking significant steps to assist small businesses to recover late payment debts. This is part of a package of measures to tackle late payment. We have also legislated for new transparency measures in the public and private sectors. Through the Enterprise Bill, currently before Parliament, we will legislate to establish a Small Business Commissioner to give general advice and to help small businesses resolve disputes relating to payment matters with larger businesses.

Minimum Wage: Complaints

Paul Blomfield: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what estimate his Department has made of the claims relating to national minimum wage have fallen under section 2 of the Deduction from Wages (Limitation) Regulations 2014 since their entry into force.

Nick Boles: No estimate has been made of the number of National Minimum Wage claims falling under section 2 of the Deduction from Wages (Limitation) Regulations 2014 since they came into force. The Regulations introduced a two year limit on claims for unlawful deductions made to an Employment Tribunal, including claims for the National Minimum Wage. Alternative options remain for workers who are concerned that they have been underpaid the National Minimum Wage over a longer time period. This includes making a complaint to HMRC, who can investigate and issue a Notice of Underpayment on the worker’s behalf, going back up to six years. Claims can also be brought to the county court for breach of contract, where arrears can be claimed going back six years (five years in Scotland).

Pubs Code Adjudicator

Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, pursuant to the Answer of 18 March 2016 to Question 30689, when his Department plans to publish the declaration of actual or potential conflicts of interest made by Paul Newby for the role of Pubs Code Adjudicator.

Anna Soubry: The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Pubs Code Adjudicator

Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, pursuant to the Answer of 18 March 2016 to Question 30698, whether the person appointed as Pubs Code Adjudicator was the recommended choice of the panel.

Anna Soubry: In line with the Office of the Commissioner for Public Appointments’ Code of Practice for Ministerial Appointments to Public Bodies, at the end of the process the Minister is given a choice of candidates assessed by the interview panel as appointable. Mr Newby was assessed as appointable by the panel,

Pubs Code Adjudicator

Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, pursuant to the Answer of 18 March 2016 to Question 30693, on the Pubs Code Adjudicator, how many people were approached by (a) his Department and (b) Saxton Bampflyde Limited; and how many of those people (i) previously worked and (ii) work for pub companies.

Anna Soubry: It is standard Government practice not to announce the number of people approached or the details of candidates.

Education Funding Agency and Skills Funding Agency: Operating Costs

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, pursuant to the Answer of 16 March 2016 to Question 30126, what estimate his Department has made of the total cost of running sites operated by the (a) Skills Funding Agency and (b) Education Funding Agency in each of the last five years.

Nick Boles: The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Employment: Telephone Services

Tulip Siddiq: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, with reference to the Freedom of Information Request release of 1 October 2014, reference BIS/FOI/2014/20352, what the data on referrals is for each financial year between 2009-10 and 2015-16.

Nick Boles: The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Pubs Code Adjudicator

Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, pursuant to the Answer of 18 March 2016 to Question 30732 and the oral contribution of the Minister for Small Business, Industry and Enterprise of 10 March 2016, Official Report, column 425, what the nature of Mr Newby's assistance to departmental officials was in the development and implementation of the Pubs Code.

Anna Soubry: I refer the hon Member to the Answer to Question UIN 30732.

Apprentices: Council Tax

Peter Kyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, whether learners studying on degree apprenticeship programmes are exempt from council tax.

Nick Boles: An apprenticeship is a paid job. An apprentice will earn a wage from the start of their degree apprenticeship. The benefits system, which includes council tax exemptions, treats an apprenticeship in the same way as any other job.

Apprentices: Pay

Louise Haigh: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, with reference to paragraphs 1.140 and 1.142 of the Budget 2016, whether it is his policy that apprentices over the age of 25 will be subject to the national living wage or the apprentice rate of the national minimum wage.

Nick Boles: The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Green Investment Bank

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what estimates his Department has made of the range for the value of liabilities arising from the sale of the Green Investment Bank.

Anna Soubry: Government policy is to move the Green Investment Bank (GIB) in to the private sector. Following a sale, GIB’s contractual liabilities will be funded by its new shareholders. To the extent that HM Government retains a minority stake, the Government will contribute funds towards those contractual commitments on a pro rata basis for UK based investments.Separately, as part of the sale process, the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) has entered into an agreement with Poyry (provider of electricity market reports and price forecasting) (electricity market report and associated price forecast provider) (electricity market report and associated price forecast provider)(electricity market report and associated price forecast provider)to share information with potential bidders to help them to undertake due diligence. This agreement requires BIS to provide an indemnity to Poyry in relation to any resulting liability Poyry might incur. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills set out details of the indemnity in his written ministerial statement of 21 March (HCWS633) including his view that the likelihood of it being called upon is low. A Departmental minute explaining the procedure followed and describing the liabilities undertaken has also been placed in the Libraries of the House.

Ministry of Defence

Military Bases: Internet

Mrs Flick Drummond: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department is taking to increase the provision of free wi-fi and improve bandwidth access for armed forces personnel in military bases in the UK to remove the need for such personnel to pay individual monthly subscriptions for access to the internet.

Mark Lancaster: Whilst there is no overall programme to deliver free Wi-Fi access to UK based personnel each service is making some provision. The Royal Navy has rolled out Wi-Fi to six Royal Navy and Royal Marine establishments and intend to continue to roll out services to all Royal Navy and Royal Marine establishments subject to funding availability within the next 12 to 24 months. The service is provided free of charge to all personnel based at, working in or visiting these establishments.There is currently no programme in place to roll out free Wi-Fi access across all Royal Air Force (RAF) stations, as facilities vary from location to location and any improvements are currently provided on application. The RAF has a scheme to provide improved free Wi-Fi access in communal areas, whereby public funding (from Local Initiative Grants or other permissible funding) covers the cost of the enabling works and a charity (the RAF Association) meets the running costs. To date, eleven RAF stations have benefitted from the increase in Wi-Fi access under this scheme, though other stations have provided free Wi-Fi in their communal areas through other individual initiatives.The provision of Wi-Fi in Army accommodation is under contract and is payable by those who use it. There are currently no plans for the Army to provide free Wi-Fi. However, once global connectivity is in place across Defence, the single Service Commands will be able to request WiFi through the catalogue service, subject to available funding.

Military Bases: Internet

Mrs Flick Drummond: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department is taking to increase the provision of free wi-fi and improve bandwidth access for armed forces personnel in military bases overseas to remove the need for such personnel to pay individual monthly subscriptions for access to the internet.

Penny Mordaunt: In Cyprus we have recently funded a programme of work to have Wi-Fi installed in the Single Living Accommodation at RAF Akrotiri, Episkopi Garrison, Dhekelia Station and, more recently, Ayios Nikolaos. This demonstrates the value placed on overseas service and the efforts made to address perceived disadvantage. WiFi is also available to personnel at the other Permanent Joint Operating Bases (PJOBs) in Gibraltar, Falkland Islands, Diego Garcia and Ascension Island. However, this is provided by civilian contractors and the quality and cost to personnel varies across the sites.Furthermore, for personnel deployed on Operations overseas, connection to family and friends is recognised as beneficial to the well-being of deployed Service Personnel and is realised via a variety of methods including; phone, mail and internet provision. Some locations are harder to reach, including some parts of Africa. Therefore, wherever practicable, the best method of internet provision is considered based upon connectivity, cyber security, duration of operation and value for money. Subsequently, provision of internet for welfare communication is normally met at Public expense, noting that in some locations where the provision of internet is provided by coalition partners, the MOD pays for some provision, allowing personnel to 'top up' or buy a faster service at their own expense.

Syria

Ms Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what proportion of Government spending on Syria has been spent on (a) military action and (b) the provision of humanitarian aid.

Penny Mordaunt: It is not possible to separately identify the costs of military action in Syria. However, from August 2014, the net additional costs of counter-Daesh activity in Iraq and Syria have been £280 million. Since February 2012, the UK has pledged over £2.3 billion in response to the humanitarian crisis in Syria.

Frigates

Mrs Flick Drummond: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department has taken to assess the basing and maintenance options for (a) the Type 26 frigate and (b) the new general purpose frigate.

Mr Philip Dunne: As part of its normal forward planning, the Royal Navy routinely reviews its requirements for future waterfront infrastructure, including berths, docks and related facilities, to inform decisions regarding infrastructure investment, base porting and maintenance.The next review is planned to be conducted later this year and will take account of decisions in last year's Strategic Defence and Security Review, particularly the announcement of a class of eight Type 26 Global Combat Ships and the proposed new class of General Purpose Frigate.

Navy

Sir Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the trained strength of the Royal Navy is by (a) officers and (b) non-commissioned ranks.

Mark Lancaster: The trained strength of the Royal Navy by officers and non-commissioned ranks as of 1 February 2016 is as follows.  OfficersRatingsRoyal Navy5,13017,650Royal Marines7706,170Total5,90023,820 All totals are rounded in accordance with the Defence Statistics rounding policy; therefore totals may not equal the sum of their parts. All numbers are rounded to the nearest 10 with numbers ending in 5 rounded to the nearest multiple of 20 to avoid bias. These figures were published on 10 March 2016 in the Royal Navy and Royal Marine Situation Report at: www.gov.uk

Minesweepers

Sir Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what plans he has to replace the fleet of mine countermeasure vessels after 2020.

Mr Philip Dunne: The Ministry of Defence is currently undertaking a lengthy assessment phase for a replacement Mine Countermeasures and Hydrographic capability through multi-national co-operation; principally with France as part of the Lancaster House agreement. A range of options is being considered to modernise mine countermeasures systems and remove the man from the minefield through use of the latest unmanned technological solutions and remote operating systems. Decisions on the type and number of platforms which will operate these systems will follow later in programme

Royal Fleet Auxiliary

Sir Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what plans he has for the replacement of RFA (a) Diligence and (b) Argus after 2025.

Mr Philip Dunne: The consideration of options to deliver the capabilities provided by RFA Diligence and RFA Argus remains ongoing.

Defence Equipment: Procurement

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, which defence procurement projects the Government has been involved in that (a) have included other EU member states and (b) have been EU-led.

Mr Philip Dunne: The defence procurement projects which have included other EU member states are given in the table below. Project EU Member StatesA400MBelgium/France/ Germany/SpainACCOLADE (Technology Demonstrator Programme for Ships)FranceFASGW-Future Air to Surface Guided WeaponFranceHarrierItaly/SpainHercules TriStarDenmark/ItalyLightning IIDenmark/Italy/NetherlandsMeteorFrance/Germany/Italy/Spain/ SwedenMMCM – Maritime Mine Counter MeasuresFranceNLAW- New Light Anti-Tank WeaponSwedenPAAMS – Principal Anti-Air Missile SystemFrance/ItalySMERAS (NATO Submarine Rescue System)FranceTornadoGermany/ItalyTyphoonGermany/Italy/Spain There are no defence procurement projects which are EU led.

Defence Equipment: Procurement

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, from which non-UK EU-based companies his Department procures materiel.

Mr Philip Dunne: In 2014-15, the Ministry of Defence (MOD) placed 2,128 new contracts. A breakdown of those which were non-UK EU-based companies is not held centrally.The MOD does, however, routinely publish a list of all organisations with which we have spent £5 million or more. Details for 2015 can be found in Excel tables 2a and 2b of the Trade, Industry and Contracts Bulletin 2015 at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/mod-industry-trade-and-contracts-2015

Frigates: Shipbuilding

Mrs Flick Drummond: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of building the new general purpose frigate class in parallel with the Type 26 programme.

Mr Philip Dunne: The Ministry of Defence has commenced pre-concept work on the new class of light General Purpose Frigate (GPFF) which will help inform the overall approach to the surface maritime programme following Strategic Defence and Security Review 2015.As this work is in its very early stages it is not possible to make an assessment of the feasibility of building the GPFF in parallel with the Type 26 Global Combat Ships, or what the potential merits of that approach would be.

Royal Fleet Auxiliary

Sir Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the order of battle is of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary.

Penny Mordaunt: As at 22 March 2016 the Order of Battle for the Royal Fleet Auxiliary is as follows: Order of BattleFleet Tanker2Small Fleet Tanker2Fleet Replenishment Ship3Landing Ship Dock3Aviation Training Ship1Forward Repair Ship1

Royal Fleet Auxiliary

Sir Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what plans he has for the Future Solid Support Programme; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Philip Dunne: As announced in the Strategic Defence and Security Review 2015, we plan to procure three Fleet Solid Support (FSS) logistic ships to begin entering service from the mid-2020s.

Frigates

Sir Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what he plans the size of the Frigate fleet will be in 2025.

Mr Philip Dunne: The 2015 Strategic Defence and Security Review announced that we will maintain our fleet of 19 frigates and destroyers whilst also conducting a concept phase for the design and build of a new class of lighter, flexible general purpose frigate so that by the 2030s there is potential to increase the total number of frigates and destroyers.

Russia: Submarines

Sir Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether he has received reports of Russian submarine activity in sea lanes considered vital to the UK.

Penny Mordaunt: I refer the right hon. Member to the answer given by the former Armed Forces Minister (Mark Francois) on 24 March 2015 to Question 225944.



Hansard extract on Territorial Waters
(Word Document, 15.25 KB)

Navy

Sir Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether he has made an assessment of gaps in maritime capability.

Penny Mordaunt: Given the constantly evolving nature of the threats we face, maritime capabilities are regularly reviewed and assessed. I am witholding the details of those assessments as their release would, or would be likely to, prejudice the capability, effectiveness or security of the Armed Forces.

Money Laundering: EU Law

Mr Charles Walker: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what estimate his Department has made of the number of its senior civil servants who will potentially fall under the provisions of the Fourth EU Money Laundering Directive, 2015/849; and what assessment he has made of which of his Department's agencies or other public bodies will potentially be classed as holding a prominent public function for the purposes of that directive.

Mr Julian Brazier: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer given to his Question 31527 on 22 March 2016. 



Money Laundering: EU Law
(Word Document, 26.54 KB)

Future Strategic Tanker Aircraft

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to paragraph 4.49 of the National Security Strategy and Strategic Defence and Security Review 2015, what progress the Government has made on the proposal to adapt a Voyager aircraft for the secure transport of senior ministers and the Royal Family; what adaptations will be made to the aircraft for that purpose; what estimate the Government has made of costs of those adaptations; who is responsible for making those adaptations; and when those adaptations are planned to be completed.

Mr Philip Dunne: We are making good progress on the proposal to adapt one of our existing Voyager aircraft so that, as well as its primary air tanking role, it can transport senior Ministers securely. The aircraft will also be available for the Royal Family. There will be a number of modifications to ensure that the Voyager aircraft can transport senior Ministers whilst still maintaining the ability to conduct its operational role, therefore delivering better value for money than the current use of charter aircraft. The aircraft will be reconfigured to have 158 seats.I am witholding further information at this time as its release would prejudice on going commercial negotiations.

Type 45 Destroyers

Mrs Flick Drummond: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when the power systems upgrade for the Type 45 destroyer will commence fitting; and whether that work will be carried out by a contractor using facilities at HMNB Portsmouth for each ship in the class.

Mr Philip Dunne: On the question of when the power systems upgrade for the Type 45 Destroyers will commence, I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to Question 25149 on 8 February 2016 to the hon. Member for Dunfermline and West Fife (Mr Douglas Chapman).A decision on where the work will be carried out will be taken when the technical option and delivery model have been selected.



Type 45 Destroyers: Repairs and Maintenance
(Word Document, 14.82 KB)

Type 45 Destroyers

Mrs Flick Drummond: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of fitting Mark 41 vertical launch capability to the Type 45 destroyer.

Mr Philip Dunne: The Strategic Defence and Security Review 2015 directed that further investigation be undertaken into the potential of the Type 45 Destroyers to operate in a Ballistic Missile Defence role. This work is under way and a range of potential capability development routes are being considered. It would be inappropriate to comment on specific missile systems at this stage.

Department for Communities and Local Government

Social Rented Housing: EU Nationals

Mrs Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what estimate he has made of the number of nationals from other EU member states who are on social housing waiting lists in the UK.

Brandon Lewis: The Department’s annual Local Authority’s Housing Statistics provide information on the total households on local authority waiting lists in England but do not record nationality. The Department’s English Housing Survey does ask whether respondents are on a waiting list and also records nationality. The sample size, however, is not sufficient to provide a robust estimate by nationality.

Communities and Local Government: European Social Fund

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how much funding his Department received from the European Social Fund (a) between 2007 and 2014 and (b) from 2014 to the last month for which data is available.

James Wharton: None.

Social Services: Finance

Barbara Keeley: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, whether his Department has made an estimate of the number and proportion of councils which have decided to levy the social care precept in 2016-17.

Mr Marcus Jones: The number of local authorities which have decided to set a precept in 2016-17 for adult social care will be published with the Department’s annual council tax statistical release; the scheduled date for publication is 31 March 2016.

Social Rented Housing

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 17 February 2016 to Question 26459, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of changes to the pay to stay scheme proposed in the Housing and Planning Bill on the number of residents who leave their local communities.

Brandon Lewis: Following my answer on 17 February, the Government's consultation response on Pay to Stay published on 9 March confirmed that a taper will be applied above the minimum income thresholds. This will mean that rental increases will be lower for those households close to the income thresholds. And I would reiterate that if tenants on incomes well above the threshold wish to take up rental opportunities in the private sector then this should be encouraged to free up social housing for those most in need.

Planning Permission: Appeals

Tulip Siddiq: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 2 March 2016 to Question 27887, what proportion of undecided and withdrawn appeals were (a) undecided and (b) withdrawn in each year since 2009-10; and for what reasons the number of undecided and withdrawn appeals is higher in 2015-16 than in any of the previous six years.

Brandon Lewis: The attached table shows the number of undecided and withdrawn planning appeals, these were previously combined in the table in the answer of 2 March.The undecided number for 2015-16 is much higher than other years because it includes the live casework that is in the system at present, awaiting a decision.The number of withdrawn planning appeals has ranged between 500 and 630 for all years except 2009-2010, when the number of appeals received was higher.



Planning appeals table
(Excel SpreadSheet, 13.26 KB)

Homelessness

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what estimate his Department has made of its spending on reducing homelessness in each of the next five years; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Marcus Jones: Since 2010 we have invested over £500 million to enable local authorities and the voluntary sector to support those vulnerable and at risk of homelessness. One person without a home is one too many and we are committed to do all we can to prevent homelessness. We have protected the homelessness prevention funding local authorities receive, totalling £315 million by 2019-20. This builds on our Spending Review commitment to increase central government funding to £139 million over the course of this Parliament. We will work with homelessness organisations to consider other options, including legislation, to ensure those at risk of homelessness get earlier and more effective support.We also announced at Budget £100 million to deliver low cost ‘move on’ accommodation to enable people leaving hostels and refuges to make a sustainable recovery from a homelessness crisis, providing at least 2,000 places for vulnerable people to enable independent living.

Mayors: Pay

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what information his Department holds on the salary levels of elected mayors of each of the combined authorities; and if he will make a statement.

James Wharton: The Department holds no information about the salary levels of elected mayors of combined authorities.

Homelessness

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 17 March 2016 to Question 31008, how many officials of his Department worked full-time on strategies to tackle homelessness in each of the last five years.

Mr Marcus Jones: Over the years, this Department always ensured that policy areas, including homelessness, were suitably resourced in order to provide the best possible response to deal with changing priorities.

Fracking: Planning Permission

Cat Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if she will ensure that the final determination on fracking applications is made by local authorities.

James Wharton: Local authorities lead the process for the consideration of planning applications for shale gas exploration under the Town and Country Planning regime. Under this regime an applicant has a right of appeal to the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government in clearly specified circumstances. The Government has taken steps to ensure this locally led regime is effective, as set out in Written Ministerial Statements of 16 September, HCWS201 and HCWS202. Community involvement in planning applications and people’s safety and the environment will remain paramount.

Scotland Office

Scotland Office: European Social Fund

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, how much funding his Department received from the European Social Fund (a) between 2007 and 2014 and (b) from 2014 to the last month for which data is available.

David Mundell: The Scotland Office has received no funding from the European Social Fund.

Money Laundering: EU Law

Mr Charles Walker: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what estimate his Department has made of the number of its senior civil servants who will potentially fall under the provisions of the Fourth EU Money Laundering Directive, 2015/849; and what assessment he has made of which of his Department's agencies or other public bodies will potentially be classed as holding a prominent public function for the purposes of that directive.

David Mundell: Under the Fourth Anti-Money Laundering Directive, which will be transposed into national law by June 2017, a politically exposed person is one who has been entrusted with a prominent public function domestically or by a foreign country. This would include some senior civil servants, such as ambassadors and chargés d'affaires. The Government's view is that the Directive permits a risk-based approach to the identification of whether an individual is a politically exposed person and, when identified, the Directive enables the application of different degrees of enhanced measures to reflect the risks posed. The Government will be setting out this view in a consultation which will be published shortly.

Women and Equalities

Health: Young People

Luciana Berger: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, pursuant to the Answer of 14 January 2016 to Question 22693, what information she holds on the number of teachers who have accessed the PSHE Association guidance on body image.

Caroline Dinenage: The PSHE Association resource on Body Image was accessed 4396 times in the first six months after launch. In addition to direct access through the PSHE Association website, the Association has over 100 local authority representatives on their mailing lists. Those who have accessed the resource will be able to share documents with all teachers and schools in their area.

Department for Transport

Roads: Solihull

Julian Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what funding his Department has allocated to Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council for local road maintenance in the latest period for which figures are available.

Andrew Jones: Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council is part of the West Midlands Integrated Transport Authority which will receive £85.1 million in capital funding from the Department for Transport for local highways maintenance from 2015/16 to 2020/21. This funding is for all authorities within the West Midlands Integrated Transport Authority except Birmingham which has an operational highway maintenance project funded through the Private Finance Initiative. The Department does not hold information on the highway maintenance funding Solihull receives from the West Midlands Integrated Transport Authority.

Department for Transport: European Social Fund

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much funding his Department received from the European Social Fund (a) between 2007 and 2014 and (b) from 2014 to the last month for which data is available.

Mr Robert Goodwill: None. My Department does not receive any funding from the European Social Fund.

Bus Services

Daniel Zeichner: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, which bus operators his Department has had discussions with on the Buses Bill; and how many meetings his Department has had with each of those bus operators.

Andrew Jones: Bus operators attended a series of workshops in the Autumn of last year, and since then officials have engaged, on a regular basis, with both large and small bus operators via the Confederation of Passenger Transport and the Association of Local Bus Company Managers.

High Speed 2 Railway Line

Patrick Grady: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to protect ancient woodland along the route of High Speed 2.

Mr Robert Goodwill: HS2 Ltd has sought to design HS2 to avoid environmental impacts, including those on ancient woodlands, wherever reasonably practicable. Where this is not possible mitigation or compensation measures will be undertaken. High Speed Two Information paper E2: Ecological Impact, outlines how ecological impacts have been assessed and how they will be mitigated or compensated for during construction of the proposed scheme. To compensate for the unavoidable loss of ancient woodland, the nominated undertaker will use best practice measures such as re-using the ancient woodland soils. Furthermore, we are extending the Chilterns Tunnel to avoid impacts on the ancient woodlands at Mantles Wood, Farthings Wood and Sibley’s Coppice.

Department for Transport: Iron and Steel

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much UK steel in (a) value and (b) weight his Department has used in projects it funds in each of the last 12 months.

Mr Robert Goodwill: Network Rail procures approximately 120,000 tonnes of steel rail per annum from Tata’s plant in Scunthorpe. Network Rail procures a further 8,000 tonnes of steel per annum for niche products supplied by Arcelor Mittal (Spain) and Voestalpine (Austria). Steel requirements for other projects funded by the Department are procured by prime contractors and therefore figures are not available. A breakdown of directly sourced UK steel is shown below for the last 13 rail periods. Railway periodTonnesSpend £mP1, 15/1613,5998.7P2, 15/1613,1518.8P3, 15/169,7446.0P4, 15/169,0915.8P5, 15/166,5604.2P6, 15/169,1095.9P7, 15/169,4166.1P8, 15/1610,4946.9P9, 15/166,7524.2P10, 15/164,6403.0P11, 15/164,6362.8P12, 15/167,5264.7P13, 15/16 (Forecast)18,2518.7TOTAL LAST 12 MONTHS122,96975.7

Motorways: Accidents

Mrs Louise Ellman: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many statutory removals of vehicles have occurred on each section of motorway using an all-lane running configuration (a) since those configurations have been in use and (b) in each of the 10 years before those configurations were in use; and if he will make a statement.

Andrew Jones: The only “All Lane Running” sections of motorway are on the M25 between junctions 5 and 7, as well as junctions 23 to 27. These sections both opened in 2014. Incidents that required vehicle recovery were logged by Highways England from October 2007. The data held by Highways England includes all removals such as recoveries arranged directly between motorists and their breakdown recovery company as well as statutory removals. The total number of statutory removals occurring on these sections of the M25 between Oct 2007 and Dec 2015 is 3560.The table below includes sections that have been opened in 2015. Number of incidents involving recovery on M25 All Lane Running sectionsM25 All Lane Running sectionsOct - Dec 200720082009201020112012201320142015Grand TotalM25 J23 and J2441516231821121530154M25 J24 and J235232416232172938186M25 J24 and J25104953625656125182431M25 J25 and J2474335495445127168384M25 J25 and J2663026313941171368271M25 J26 and J258302129273411731198M25 J26 and J2782219482734341740249M25 J27 and J264178172734371340197M25 J6 and J725013914622614136M25 J5 and J61048406053661316489561M25 J7 and J642320342929432015217M25 J6 and J5158947834972945077576Grand Total834393224614164594323565923,560

Transport: EU Grants and Loans

Mrs Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, which projects in the UK will receive funding from the Connecting Europe Facility transport 2015 Multi-Annual Work Programme.

Mr Robert Goodwill: A full list of transport projects (involving UK participants) that have been awarded funding from the Connecting Europe Facility is available on the Innovation and Networks Executive Agency web-site:https://ec.europa.eu/inea/en/connecting-europe-facility/cef-transport/projects-by-country/united-kingdomThe web-site includes an overview of the project, the participants, the implementation schedule and the amount of funding awarded.

High Speed Two: Staff

Mrs Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many members of staff of HS2 Ltd have been provided with (a) mobile telephones, (b) tablet devices and (c) corporate credit cards in each of the last three years.

Mr Robert Goodwill: The information listed in the table below provides information for the last three complete calendar years:  Mobile PhonesTablets Government Procurement Cards (GPC*)20131403010201422612025201567026330 *HS2 Ltd does not have Corporate Credit Cards, it has Government Procurement Cards (in line with Government policy they have recently been renamed as Electronic Purchasing Card Solutions).

High Speed 2 Railway Line

Mrs Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans he has to bring forward separate legislative proposals on the proposed extension of High Speed 2 from the West Midlands to Crewe.

Mr Robert Goodwill: Government intends to deposit a hybrid Bill for HS2 from West Midlands to Crewe (HS2 Phase 2a) before the end of 2017. This will enable this section of route to open in 2027, six years earlier than originally planned. This means that cities across the North West and Scotland will realise more of the benefits of HS2 sooner.

Bus Service Operators Grant

Daniel Zeichner: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 16 March 2016 to Question 30285, whether the working assumption that benefits from the Bus Service Operators Grant are passed on to passengers 50 per cent through lower fares and 50 per cent through increased service levels was informed by discussions with bus operators.

Andrew Jones: The working assumption that the Bus Service Operators Grant (BSOG) is passed on to passengers 50% through lower fares and 50% through increased service levels was presented to and informally sense checked with industry members attending BSOG related working groups held by the Department over 2014 and early 2015.

High Speed 2 Railway Line

Mrs Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many Natura 20000 sites are located within 10 miles of the proposed route of phase two of High Speed 2.

Mr Robert Goodwill: There are 18 Natura 2000 sites within 10 miles of the proposed Phase 2 route. This is the route as proposed in the July 2013 route consultation.

High Speed 2 Railway Line

Mrs Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much EU funding has been provided for ground investigations related to High Speed 2.

Mr Robert Goodwill: The Department for Transport was awarded €39.2 million for HS2 under the European Union’s Connecting Europe Facility to fund Ground Investigation works for Phase 1 of the High Speed 2 Programme. The EU has agreed to provide this funding in stages between 2015 and 2019.

Bus Services: Competition

Daniel Zeichner: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the proposed Buses Bill, what assessment he has made of the potential effect on competition in the bus services market of bus operators retaining vehicle fleets, depots and other strategic assets when bus services are franchised.

Andrew Jones: The actual competition impacts will depend on how franchising is implemented at the local level. The Department’s high level assessment of the potential competition impacts of the Buses Bill proposals will be set out in the Impact Assessment which will accompany the introduction of the Bill. Individual local authorities will be better placed to conduct a detailed competition assessment of any changes they propose to make to their local bus market in light of the Bill.

Bus Services

Daniel Zeichner: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 11 March 2016 to Question 29611, in what specified format the Buses Bill will require data on routes, timetables, punctuality and fares to be published; and whether this format will differ from the format currently used by his Department to publish bus fares information.

Andrew Jones: The Buses Bill will not specify the format in which the data on routes, timetables, punctuality and fares must be provided. The Bill would give the Secretary of State the powers to make secondary legislation to mandate the provision of data. The specific format of the data will be determined following discussions with industry in due course.

Bus Services: Fares

Daniel Zeichner: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make it his policy to collect and publish data on bus fares by local authority; and if he will plan for that data to include fares information in prices rather than according to the retail prices index.

Andrew Jones: The Buses Bill will include powers to require, through secondary legislation, the release of open data on fares. The specific format of the fares data will be determined following discussions with industry in due course. The department publishes the local bus fares index, available at:https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/387116/bus0415.xls. The bus fares index is compiled from data provided by a representative sample of around 100 operators and Transport for London. The department frequently reviews the statistics it produces in line with the Code of Practice for Official Statistics. Following the Buses Bill and discussions with industry, the department will make sure the statistics it collects in relation to local bus fares continue to meet user needs.

Great Western Railway Line

Michelle Donelan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessments his Department has made of the potential economic benefit of (a) opening new stations on the Great Western Main line, (b) running later services on the Great Western Main line and (c) reducing rail fares on the Great Western Main line.

Claire Perry: Any specific project that may bring such benefits to passengers is assessed during the planning stage of that project. I completely understand your concern about the cost of some rail fares and the impact that this can have on people’s budgets. That is why we have capped the rail fares we regulate at inflation (RPI) for three years running, and will continue to do so for the life of this parliament. We have also stopped operators increasing individual fares by up to 2% more. This means those fares we regulate will only rise by 1% in 2016 making it the lowest fare increase since 2010.

Railways: Electrification

Stephen Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions he has had with (a) Network Rail and (b) train operating companies on minimising disruption from the planned closure of the Severn Tunnel for electrification.

Claire Perry: Ministers regularly meet with Network Rail and the train operating companies to discuss a range of issues, including the need to ensure that the investment programme to enhance the network results in the minimum necessary disruption to passengers.

Severn River Crossing: Tolls

Jessica Morden: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to paragraph 1.274 of Budget 2016, what plans the Government has made for the timetable of the review of the case for free-flow tolling on the Severn River Crossings.

Andrew Jones: The timings of the review of free-flow tolling have yet to be decided, and will depend on the complexity of the options to be assessed, including the details of payment collection and enforcement.

Severn River Crossing: Tolls

Jessica Morden: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to paragraph 1.274 of Budget 2016, when the Government plans to consult on the tolls on the Severn River Crossings; and what (a) the aims and (b) the format of that consultation will be.

Andrew Jones: The timing and format of the consultation is yet to be decided.

Severn River Crossing: Tolls

Jessica Morden: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department has made an estimate of the level of maintenance only toll on the Severn River Crossings.

Andrew Jones: The current tolls are set not just to cover maintenance and operation costs but also to repay the construction and financing costs of the Second Severn Crossing, plus the outstanding debt on the original Crossing.

Severn River Crossing: Tolls

Jessica Morden: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he plans that the toll level for Vehicle Category 1 and Vehicle Category 2 will be equal when the Severn Bridges return to public ownership.

Andrew Jones: The Chancellor announced at Budget 2015 that the Government will abolish Category 2 tolls (small goods vehicles and small buses) and include those vehicles in Category 1, to reduce costs for businesses once Severn River Crossings are in public ownership.

Roads: Accidents

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 15 March 2016, to Question 31254, on road: accidents, which 31 local authorities have not yet received an agreement proposal.

Andrew Jones: The 31 local authorities that have not yet received an agreement proposal are: Local Highway AuthorityBath and North East Somerset CouncilBerkshire District CouncilBlackburnBlackpoolBorough of Windsor & MaidenheadBracknell Forest Borough CouncilBrighton & Hove CouncilBristolBuckinghamshire County CouncilCumbriaDorsetIsle of Wight CouncilKnowsleyLiverpoolMedway CouncilNewcastleNorth SomersetNorthumberlandPlymouthPoolePortsmouth City CouncilSolihullSouth GloucestershireSouthampton City CouncilSt. HelensStoke on TrentSwindonTorbayTransport for LondonWiltshireWokingham Borough Council

Motorways: Accidents

Mrs Louise Ellman: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many statutory removals of vehicles have taken place from the M1, M6, M62 and M25 in each of the last 10 years; and if he will make a statement.

Andrew Jones: Until October 2008 the Police undertook statutory recoveries as Highways England (formerly known as the Highways Agency) did not have the authority to do so. Since then, contractors have been carrying out statutory recoveries on behalf of Highways England. Incidents that required vehicle recovery were logged by Highways England from October 2007. The data held by Highways England includes all removals such as recoveries arranged directly between motorists and their breakdown recovery company as well as statutory removals. The total number of statutory removals from October 2007 to December 2015 is as follows;M1 – 11074M25 – 13089M6 – 16131M62 – 5520 Number of incidents involving recovery on the Strategic Road NetworkMotorwayOct - Dec 200720082009201020112012201320142015Grand TotalM15111,7701,0011,5931,3241,4471,4219561,05111,074M254532,0941,6201,6801,5321,7061,5141,1121,37813,089M66642,8201,4882,4951,8962,1101,8041,3151,53916,131M622651,0124278047435946035155575,520Grand Total1,8937,6964,5366,5725,4955,8575,3423,8984,52545,814

Roads: Safety

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 17 March 2016 to Question 30892, when his Department plans to set up the independent Road Safety Management Capacity Review, announced in his Department's Road Safety Statement, published on 21 December 2015.

Andrew Jones: The Department for Transport plans to commission a road safety management capacity review during the next financial year.

Airports: South East

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether the Government's review of the Davies Commission on Aviation capacity in the South East includes an assessment of the costs and benefits of government investment in aviation biofuel.

Mr Robert Goodwill: The Government continues to consider the large amount of very detailed analysis contained in the Airports Commission’s final report, including on reducing carbon emissions from an expanded airport, before taking any decisions on next steps. Separate to the work on airport capacity, the Government is also assessing the benefits of making aviation biofuels eligible for the incentives which currently apply to biofuels used in road transport through the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation (RTFO). We aim to publish a consultation on legislative amendments to this scheme later this year including proposals for aviation biofuel.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

UK Membership of EU

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, with reference to the report, The process for withdrawing from the EU Cm9216, published on 29 February 2016, if he will take steps to ensure that, in the event of the UK leaving the EU, the principles enshrined within Protocol 3 of the 1972 Accession Treaty are retained following the negotiation of the UK's relationship with the EU.

Mr David Lidington: The Channel Islands and the Isle of Man have a special relationship with the EU, provided under Protocol 3 to the UK’s Treaty of Accession to the European Community. The procedure governing a country’s departure from the EU is set out in Article 50 of the Treaty on European Union. This provides for a period of two years for the negotiation of exit terms. After two years, the departing Member State is deemed to have left the EU, meaning that both the rights and the obligations that derive from membership would lapse. This two year deadline can be extended, but only by unanimous agreement of all EU Member States.At the February European Council, the Government negotiated a new settlement, giving the United Kingdom a special status in a reformed European Union. The Government's position, as set out by the Prime Minister, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Mr Cameron), to the House on 22 February, is that the UK will be stronger, safer and better off remaining in a reformed EU.

Iraq: Genocide

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 22 February 2016 to Question 26920, if he will offer the Iraqi government British forensic team support to investigate mass graves discovered in Sinjar.

Mr Philip Hammond: Holding answer received on 22 March 2016



We are aware of reports that mass graves have been discovered in northern Iraq but our position on the matter has not changed. We continue to condemn in the strongest terms the targeting and persecution of Yazidis, Christians and other communities by Daesh. We continue to urge the Government of Iraq to do all it can to ensure the security and rights of all communities in Iraq. We are working to build consensus around the importance of freedom of religion or belief, including by funding practical projects designed to enhance community dialogue between civil society and faith groups.

Islamic State: Genocide

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what the Government's policy is on the UN Security Council referring evidence of potential genocide by Daesh to the International Criminal Court.

Mr Philip Hammond: Holding answer received on 22 March 2016



The International Criminal Court Prosecutor set out some of the complicated issues involved in the ICC investigating Daesh in her statement of 8 April 2015. Under article 13 of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, the Court may exercise its jurisdiction if a situation in a specified territory is referred to the Prosecutor by the UN Security Council. When efforts were made to refer the situation in Syria to the ICC in 2014, this proposed referral was vetoed by Russia and China. However, the Government remains committed to working with our international partners to ensure that Daesh is held to account for its crimes and that those who have suffered at its hand receive justice.

Islamic State: Yazidis

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 22 February 2016 to Question 26922 and the statement with reference to genocide on 17 March 2016 by the US Secretary of State on Daesh atrocities, if he will reassess the Government's policy on judgements as to whether genocide has occurred.

Mr Philip Hammond: Holding answer received on 22 March 2016



The US Secretary of State is right to draw attention to the appalling crimes Daesh are committing, both against minorities groups and Muslims. We will continue to work closely with the US and our other partners in the Global Coalition to defeat Daesh and to ensure justice for those who have suffered at their hands. It is a long standing UK policy that any judgement on whether genocide has occurred should be a matter for judicial decision, rather than for governments. As Secretary of State Kerry said, “ultimately, the full facts must be brought to light by an independent investigation and through formal legal determination made by a competent court or tribunal.”

Israel: Bedouin

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with his Israeli counterparts on the demolition of the village of Umm el-Hiran.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: Our Embassy in Tel Aviv has raised UK concerns with the Israeli Government on this issue. We continue to encourage the Israeli authorities and Bedouin communities to work together to identify a satisfactory solution. Any solution must respect the equality of all Israel’s citizens, and be consistent with Israel’s commitments under international law.

Department for International Development

Developing Countries: HIV Infection

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, pursuant to the Answer of 26 February 2016 to Question 27367, in which countries her Department has integrated HIV and sexual reproductive health and rights programmes.

Mr Nick Hurd: The UK puts the empowerment of girls and women at the heart of everything we do. We are the second largest funder of HIV prevention, care and treatment, and have pledged up to £1 billion to the Global Fund. In 2013 an adolescent girl was infected with HIV every two minutes - this is not acceptable, so this is a priority for us with international partners.Examples of our approach and countries which DFID has integrated HIV and sexual reproductive health and rights programmes can be found in “Towards Zero Infections-Two Years On” and on the department’s development tracker, both available on DFID’s website.

Developing Countries: Children

Dr Sarah Wollaston: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps her Department is taking to encourage its bilateral partners to adopt a co-ordinated early childhood development approach to provide nutritional, medical and educational support for children.

Mr Nick Hurd: There is strong evidence that supporting children in their early years with health, education, nutrition and stimulation interventions maximises their learning potential and yields long term benefits. In January DFID held a high level meeting in London, bringing together Ministers and policy makers from developing countries, academic experts and development agencies to explore how to provide cross-sectoral support to young children at scale. Drawing on the evidence base, DFID is exploring with country governments how to co-ordinate early childhood support and how to adapt our existing programmes to encompass early childhood development principles.

Overseas Aid

Stephen Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what assessment she has made of the (a) effect of lower-than predicted growth rates on the Overseas Development Assistance budget and (b) implications of such rates on the budget for her Department.

Mr Nick Hurd: The Budget document set out reductions to the Official Development Assistance budget of £650m in 2019/20 to reflect revised economic forecasts published by the Office for Budget Responsibility. As in the last Parliament, the government has and will continue to adapt spending plans to ensure the 0.7% target is met.The allocation of ODA will be decided by HMG in due course, in line with the UK Aid Strategy, and taking into account the relative value for money of ODA programmes and strategic fit with HMG objectives.

Department for Education

Teachers: Length of Service

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 1 March 2016 to Question 28492, what the turnover rate of teachers was in each year since 2010.

Nick Gibb: The Department publishes statistics showing the number and rate of teachers who enter service and the number and rate of teachers leaving service. The latest available statistics, for 2011 to 2014, are in Table C1b of the additional tables in the statistical first release ‘School Workforce in England, November 2014’, which was published in July 2015, attached and available on GOV.UK at:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/school-workforce-in-england-november-2014 The statistics show that the teacher entry rate has been higher than the teacher leavers rate throughout 2011 to 2014.



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Alternative Education

Jess Phillips: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what progress her Department has made on implementation of the recommendations of the report by Charlie Taylor, Improving Alternative Provision, published in March 2012.

Nick Gibb: The Department accepted the recommendations made by Charlie Taylor in ‘Improving Alternative Provision (AP)’, and has made a number of changes in response. We have put in place the framework for Pupil Referral Units (PRUs) to convert to AP academies and for high quality independent providers to become AP free schools. PRUs now have greater autonomy over their staffing and budgets as a result. We have revised the funding system for AP to support more informed decisions on the best AP for individual pupils. We have ensured that Initial Teacher Training placements can now be delivered by PRUs, AP academies and AP free schools. Schools’ use of AP is now a greater focus of school inspection. We have also removed restrictions over the use of maintained schools’ power to direct pupils to be educated offsite for the purposes of improving their behaviour. We have published stronger statutory guidance on the use of AP and the education of pupils unable to attend school because of health needs. Since the review, the Department has undertaken further research into the AP system, working with local authorities, head teachers of AP or special schools, and reviewing international evidence. The Department announced in the White Paper published on 17 March 2016, ‘Education Excellence Everywhere’, that we will be taking further steps to build on the recommendations made in Charlie Taylor’s review in order to meet our vision for a world class system of AP. This paper is available on GOV.UK at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/educational-excellence-everywhere.

Pupil Referral Units: Teachers

Jess Phillips: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many pupil referral units have employed trainees on an employment-based teacher-training basis in each of the last four years.

Nick Gibb: Of those Pupil Referral Units that provided information to the School Workforce Census, there were 11 in 2014 and 11 in 2013 that reported having trainees on an employment-based teacher-training basis in service. The employment based training routes covered include the Graduate Teacher Programme, Overseas Trained Teacher Programme, Registered Teacher Programme, School Direct (Salaried) and Teach First Programme. In both years there were 11.3 full-time equivalent trainees employed by the 11 Pupil Referral Units.Information for previous years is not available.

Schools: Romford

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to increase the number of (a) primary and (b) secondary school places in Romford.

Edward Timpson: Supporting local authorities in their responsibility to ensure sufficient school places in their area is one of this Government’s top priorities. That’s why we’ve committed to spending £7 billion on new school places up to 2021, which, along with our investment in the free schools programme, we expect to create 600,000 new places. Havering local authority, which is responsible for school places in Romford, received £23 million of basic need funding between 2011 and 2015, which helped to create 2,583 new primary places and 1,960 new secondary places between 2010 and 2015. Havering has also been allocated a further £58 million to create the places required by the 2019/20 academic year.

Sugar: Taxation

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to page 33 of the Budget, how much of the £520 million estimated to be raised by the new sugar levy she expects to be allocated to sporting initiatives through her Department's budget in each of the next four years.

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to page 33 of the Budget 2016, how much of the £520 million estimated to be raised by the new sugar levy she expects to be allocated to sporting initiatives through her Department's budget or arms length bodies in each of the next four years.

Edward Timpson: As announced in Budget 2016, a new soft drinks industry levy is expected to raise £520 million in the first year. In England, revenue from the soft drinks industry levy will be used to double the Physical Education (PE) and sport premium for primary schools from £160 million a year to £320 million from September 2017. Primary schools will be able to make further improvements to the quality and breadth of PE and sport they offer, including introducing new activities, after school clubs and hiring specialist coaches to work alongside teachers. Revenue generated from the levy will also be used to provide up to £285 million a year to give 25% of secondary schools increased opportunity to extend their school day to offer a wider range of activities for pupils. This can include sports clubs.

Academies

Jess Phillips: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much her Department has spent on academy conversions.

Edward Timpson: There have been 4897 academy conversions during the current and preceding five financial years. During the same period, the department has spent £323 million to support schools to become academies.Further details are in the table below:Financial YearAcademy ConversionsCosts2015-16 (April 15 - January 16)530£17m2014-15899£48m2013-14964£59m2012-131079£65m2011-121165£67m2010-11260£67mTotal4897£323m

Schools: Finance

Jess Phillips: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much school surplus has remained with local authorities after schools have converted to academy status.

Edward Timpson: The Academy Conversions (Transfer of School Surpluses) Regulations 2013 set out the process for the treatment of any surplus balance of a school when it converts to academy status. It is for the local authority and academy trust to agree together, within four months of conversion, the amount of surplus that should be paid to the academy trust. The final amount of any payment can take into account, for instance, any sum which might have been owed by the school to the local authority. No surplus funding has remained with local authorities.Further detail of the process can be found in the guidance on “Treatment of surplus and deficit balances when maintained schools become academies”, which can be found on GOV.UK at: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/416430/School_balances_on_conversion_submission.pdf

Schools: Finance

Jess Phillips: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much school deficit has remained with local authorities after schools have converted to academy status.

Edward Timpson: The Department does not hold this information on local authority budgets  Deficits for schools which convert to become sponsored academies remain with the local authority. It is right that these deficits remain with their local authority as these schools were the responsibility of the authority when they were found to be failing or underperforming and it is the authority’s responsibility for ensuring the school managed its expenditure satisfactorily.

Academies

Jess Phillips: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the average time is for a school to convert to academy status.

Edward Timpson: The average time taken for a maintained school to convert to become an academy is 7 months.

Home Education: Regulation

Dr Sarah Wollaston: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps the Government is taking to work with local authorities to ensure that the education provided to home educated children is effectively regulated and safeguarded.

Edward Timpson: The Department for Education has frequent contact with local authority officers and elected members on the subject of elective home education. Published guidance for local authorities is available on the GOV.UK website at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/elective-home-education

Teachers: Training

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to encourage older professionals to enter the teaching profession for the first time.

Nick Gibb: Holding answer received on 22 March 2016



Career changers are an important source of new teachers and bring relevant knowledge and skills from their previous employment. The number of teachers returning to the profession has increased from 11,710 in 2011 to 14,100 in 2014. In 2015/16, 21% of new entrants to initial teacher training (ITT) courses were aged 30 and above. Our marketing campaign, Your Future Their Future, uses a range of advertising to promote teacher recruitment. As part of this we run a month-long ‘New Year New Career’ sub-campaign in January of each year which is dedicated to attracting more career changers to teaching. We provide specific support for career changers to make the transition to teaching and particularly for the subjects that are needed the most, which includes:The School Direct (salaried) route, which is specifically targeted at career changers with three years’ work experience and allows them to earn a salary whilst they train to teach.Working with 18 School Direct lead schools to develop and recruit to flexible School Direct (salaried) courses in mathematics and physics, starting in September 2016. Career changers can access support including bursaries or scholarships of up to £30,000 tax-free; advice and guidance from the expert advisers on the Get Into Teaching Line; help with arranging school experience to assist with their ITT application; and access to our free Train to Teach events.

Home Education

Dr Sarah Wollaston: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps the Government has taken to assess whether the home education of children in consistent with Article 12 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Edward Timpson: The Department for Education has published guidance on ‘Listening to and involving children and young people’, which makes clear that in keeping with Article 12 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, local authorities (LAs) should take steps to ensure that the views of children are obtained and taken into account. This published guidance is available on GOV.UK at:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/listening-to-and-involving-children-and-young-people The guidance is issued under s.176 of the Education Act 2002, which requires LAs to use guidance on consulting children when they exercise their functions in relation both to schools and to elective home education. It is for each local authority to decide how best to take account of the views of children who are being educated at home.

Children in Care: Foreign Nationals

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what benefits and support services are not available to non-UK nationals leaving care that are available to UK citizens.

Edward Timpson: Care leavers who are not British citizens usually receive the same range of support and services provided under the Children Act 1989 as British citizens. However, if they are aged over 18 and fall into one of the classes of ‘ineligible person’, under Schedule 3 to the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002, they may only receive some of these. The most common class of care leavers who are ineligible persons are failed asylum seekers who have exhausted all appeals to remain in the UK.

Primary Education: Pupil Exclusions

John Pugh: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many children were permanently excluded from school during Key Stages 1 and 2 in (a) academies and (b) community schools in each of the last five years.

John Pugh: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many children have been permanently excluded from school during Key stage 1 and 2 in the last three years.

John Pugh: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many children have been permanently excluded from school during Key stage 1 and 2 in each region in the last three years.

Nick Gibb: Information on the number of permanent exclusions in state-funded primary schools is published at national and regional level in the Permanent and fixed-period exclusions in England[1] series. Information on the number of permanent exclusions in primary academies from 2010/11 to 2013/14 inclusive can be found in Table 18a of the 2013/14 release and Table 16a of the equivalent release for earlier years. [1] https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/statistics-exclusions

Schools: Admissions

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 15 March 2016 to Question 30444, what assessment she has made of the potential effect of the Government's proposal for every school to become an academy on the responsibility of local authorities to provide sufficient school places.

Edward Timpson: Local authorities (LAs) have a legal obligation to ensure that there are sufficient local schools to provide a primary and secondary place for all children needing one. Supporting LAs to do this continues to be one of the Government’s top priorities. That is why we have committed to spending £7 billion on school places up to 2021, which, alongside investment in the free schools programme, we expect to create 600,000 new places. LAs have always relied on their strong relationships with local schools to deliver the places needed and this will remain the case in a fully academised system. LAs will continue to be advocates for their electorate, challenging school providers to deliver high educational standards and better outcomes for all children.

Academies

Royston Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the role of the local authority in terms of (a) child protection, (b) safeguarding and (c) other duties for schools which become academies; and who will finance those roles.

Edward Timpson: Local authorities’ responsibilities in relation to child protection and safeguarding are unaffected by schools becoming academies, as they are not dependent on the type of school which a child attends. Details of the role we expect local authorities to play are set out in the statutory guidance “Working together to safeguard children 2015”[1]. Ofsted also inspects local authorities’ children’s social care services against the rigorous ‘Single Inspection Framework’, which includes a review of the effectiveness of the Local Safeguarding Children Board. The White Paper, Educational Excellence Everywhere,[2] sets out the education functions which we expect local authorities to provide when schools have become academies. These are focussed on supporting the interests of pupils and parents rather than services related to maintaining schools. Local authority funding for children’s social care is administered by the Department for Communities and Local Government. As part of our ongoing National Funding Formula consultation[3], we are proposing to create a new central schools block, which will fund a range of education services that local authorities carry out for all pupils and parents, regardless of whether they are in a maintained school or an academy. [1]https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/419595/Working_Together_to_Safeguard_Children.pdf[2]https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/508447/Educational_Excellence_Everywhere.pdf[3] https://consult.education.gov.uk/funding-policy-unit/schools-national-funding-formula

Supply Teachers: Training

Royston Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that supply teachers are trained to an appropriate standard in the subjects they teach.

Nick Gibb: The qualifications of supply teachers are currently governed by the same regulations as teachers employed by schools. In maintained schools, teachers must hold Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) except those who satisfy the requirements for non-qualified teachers to carry out specified work set out in the Education (Specified Work) (England) Regulations 2012, for example, instructors with special qualifications or experience. Academies and Free Schools can employ teaching staff without the automatic requirement for them to hold QTS. This applies equally to supply teachers and teachers employed by schools. To be awarded QTS, a teacher must demonstrate that they meet all of the Teachers’ Standards at the appropriate level. This includes a requirement to “demonstrate good subject and curriculum knowledge” and to have “a secure knowledge of the relevant subject(s) and curriculum areas” relevant to their teaching. Our recent White Paper, Educational Excellence Everywhere, set out our proposals to reform the way in which teachers qualify, by replacing the existing arrangements for QTS with a new, more challenging accreditation. This will be based on a teacher’s demonstration of proficiency in the classroom over a sustained period, rather than being awarded at the end of initial teacher training. It will require teachers to demonstrate advanced subject knowledge and an awareness of how evidence and research should inform effective teaching practice. The award of the new qualification will be confirmed by heads of some of our best schools, ensuring the consistency and quality of teacher accreditation. We will be publishing further information about how we intend to implement this reform in due course. Head teachers are, and will remain, responsible for the employment of teaching staff in their schools; this includes satisfying themselves that the teacher is suitably qualified, and providing appropriate training opportunities.

Teachers: Labour Turnover

Royston Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many teachers have left the teaching profession in each of the last five years.

Nick Gibb: The Department publishes statistics showing the number and rate of qualified teachers who enter service and the number and rate of qualified teachers leaving service.The latest available statistics, for 2011 to 2014, are in Table C1b of the additional tables in the statistical first release ‘School Workforce in England, November 2014’, which was published in July 2015:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/school-workforce-in-england-november-2014 The statistics show that the qualified teacher entry rate has been higher than the qualified teacher leavers rate throughout 2011 to 2014.



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Teachers: Migrant Workers

Royston Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many teachers in each of the last five years have been foreign nationals.

Nick Gibb: The information requested is not collected by the Department.

Schools: Sports

Tom Pursglove: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she plans to take to (a) assist and (b) encourage schools to make sport facilities available to the local community outside of school hours.

Edward Timpson: We encourage schools to make facilities available to the local community, including sports facilities, and many schools do. Individual schools and their governing bodies or trusts are responsible for how they use their premises and facilities. We have published advice about the use of school premises for extended activities and community service in section 11.2 of the Governance Handbook. This can be found at: www.gov.uk/government/publications/governance-handbook. Sport England has developed a resource for schools, titled ‘Use Our School’, which provides additional support for schools in opening their facilities to the community and keeping them open, and can be accessed at www.sportengland.org/facilities-planning/use-our-school/ The Government's new strategy for sport, 'Sporting Future, A New Strategy for an Active Nation' includes an action for Sport England to review take up of and engagement with its ‘Use Our School’ guidance to ensure that facilities owned by schools and colleges are used as effectively as possible.

Health Education: Cancer

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to make the Teenage Cancer Trust's education sessions available in every school.

Edward Timpson: This Government believes that schools are best placed to understand their students’ needs. Teachers are able to cover cancer awareness in personal, social, health and economic (PSHE) education lessons. In conjunction with the PSHE Association, the Teenage Cancer Trust have created resources, such as ‘What is Cancer?’[1]. The Trust provides a number of other resources to support teaching throughout the curriculum on a variety of healthy living and employment related topics. The Trust also provides free Education Sessions for secondary schools, colleges and universities, which are 45-60 minutes long and cover a range of issues about cancer. These sessions can be booked through the Teenage Cancer Trust website. The non-statutory programme of study for PSHE includes information about cancer awareness and prevention and schools can also draw on resources such as those provided by the Teenage Cancer Trust. [1] https://www.pshe-association.org.uk/curriculum-and-resources/resources/what-cancer-lesson-plans

Enterprise Advisers: Recruitment

Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answers of 14 March 2016 to Question 30445 and 21 March 2016 to Question 31491, what estimate she has made of the final number of enterprise co-ordinators.

Mr Sam Gyimah: The Careers & Enterprise Company (CEC) has made excellent progress in its work to transform the provision of careers, enterprise and employer engagement experiences for young people. The CEC is in the early stages of rolling out the Enterprise Adviser Network, which involves Enterprise Co-ordinators overseeing employer volunteers (Enterprise Advisers) who work in schools and colleges to support their careers and enterprise provision. The CEC estimates that Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) will recruit 200 Enterprise Co-ordinators, with an ambition to have an Enterprise Co-ordinator working with every secondary school. The Department for Education is in the process of agreeing the CEC’s targets for the forthcoming financial year.

Sixth Form Education

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what evidence her Department holds on the effect of schools having no sixth form provision on (a) their ability to attract high-quality teaching staff, (b) their ability to attract pupils to fill available places and (c) the likelihood of them being good or outstanding schools.

Nick Boles: There is no available evidence on the effect of schools having no sixth form provision on the likelihood of them being good or outstanding schools, attracting staff or pupils..

Teachers: Training

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many schools participated in the Schools Direct programme in each year since 2010.

Nick Gibb: The School Direct programme began in 2012. School Direct lead school information was not published prior to 2013/14 and partner school information was not collected prior to 2015/16. The summary data below reflects this:  2013/142014/152015/162016/17Number of School Direct lead schools788887773818Number of partner schoolsNo data availableNo data available8,1848,956

Sixth Form Education: Knowsley

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will take steps to ensure that there is high-quality sixth form provision within the Knowsley Borough Council area.

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what her policy is on whether each local authority area should have at least one school with sixth form provision.

Nick Boles: There are a range of institutions which provide high quality 16-19 provision, including Sixth Form Colleges and Further Education Colleges as well as school sixth forms. The Department for Education does not prescribe the exact balance of providers across a local area. Instead, it is crucial that we ensure that together the local provider base meets the needs of all young people in a local area with reasonable travel to learn distances. We are currently taking forward a series of area reviews which provide the opportunity to review post-16 provision with the aim of ensuring the provider base is strong and resilient. The decision about which schools should have sixth forms rests with schools themselves in partnership with key local stakeholders, including Regional Schools Commissioners and local authorities. A maintained school can apply to its local authority if it wishes to extend the age range of its school to add a sixth-form. We would expect this decision to take account of a range of factors including breadth of provision and local demand.

Sixth Form Education

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many and which local authority areas in England have no schools with sixth form provision.

Nick Boles: As at 22 March 2016, two local authority areas in England, City of London and Isles of Scilly, have no state funded schools with sixth form provision.This information is publically available through the EduBase system run by the Department for Education, available at: http://www.education.gov.uk/edubase/home.xhtml.

Education: Knowsley

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what meetings she or officials of her Department have had on the future of (a) Halewood Academy and (b) sixth form provision in the Borough of Knowsley.

Nick Boles: Following discussions with Halewood Academy Centre for Learning Trust, the RSC, advised by her Head Teacher Board, agreed that Halewood Academy would transfer to Innovation Enterprise Trust. The transfer is due to happen in September 2016.An Area Review covering Liverpool City Region is due to take place this academic year. This will include sixth form provision, as well as sixth form colleges and Further Education, in its analysis phase. The RSC for Lancashire and West Yorkshire is involved in the review.

Education: Assessments

Kevin Hollinrake: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps the Government is taking to ensure that examination marking is consistent and objective.

Nick Gibb: This is a matter for Ofqual, the Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation. I have therefore asked the Interim Chief Regulator, Amanda Spielman, to write directly to the Honourable Member. A copy of her reply will be placed in the House of Commons Library.

Department for Culture, Media and Sport

Social Networking: Photographs

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if he will take steps to prevent Snapchat images being made public without the consent of the image owner.

Mr Edward Vaizey: Under UK copyright law, it would be unlawful for a Snapchat user to copy an image and make it available to the public without the consent of the image owner. The image owner would be able to sue anyone who does this for copyright infringement. Snapchat photos are automatically deleted after 10 seconds. The Snapchat Privacy Policy states that if Snapchat is able to detect that a recipient has taken a screenshot of an image, they will try to inform the original poster. However, Snapchat advises users to avoid sending messages which they would not want to be saved or shared. The disclosure of private sexual photographs or films without the consent of an individual who appears in them and with intent to cause that individual distress, is an offence under Section 33 of the Criminal Justice and Courts Act 2015. Those convicted could face a maximum sentence of two years in prison.

VisitEngland

Daniel Zeichner: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what recent discussions he has had with VisitEngland on fiscal support for the Great Places Fund; and what the outcome of those discussions was.

Daniel Zeichner: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what plans he has to (a) maintain and (b) increase real terms funding for marketing of domestic tourism after 2015.

David Evennett: The British Tourist Authority received a very positive Spending Review settlement, with a stable budget over the next four years for both Britain and England activity, an increase in overall GREAT funding and the new £40million Discover England Fund. The Fund will be administered by VisitEngland and will benefit both domestic and international tourism, making it easier for all visitors to book, access and enjoy our tourism offer. Following the floods caused by storms Desmond and Eva,, £1million has also been provided for a promotional campaign to encourage British families to take holidays in the North of England.

S4C: Finance

Susan Elan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what his plans are for future funding of S4C.

Mr Edward Vaizey: The Government is committed to Welsh language programming and to the future of S4C. This is why the Secretary of State announced on the 3 February that S4C’s funding would be protected in 2016/17 at current levels (£6.8m). In order for S4C to continue to provide a first-class service and have a sustainable future, the Government also intends to carry out a comprehensive review in 2017. This will look at the remit, governance and funding of S4C to ensure the broadcaster can continue to meet the needs of Welsh speaking audiences in the future. The additional funding announced on 3 February will ensure financial stability through the review process.

Department for Culture, Media and Sport: Sick Leave

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many and what proportion of officials of his Department took sick leave for reasons relating to stress in each of the last five years; and what proportion of total sick leave that leave was in each such year.

Mr Edward Vaizey: The average days’ sickness absence per full time equivalent employed by DCMS during the last financial year was 2.0 days.The Civil Service takes a holistic approach to managing sick absence and improving wellbeing and we have focussed on specific actions to reduce the incidence of mental disorders, including stress related absence. This includesearly referral to occupational health experts, particularly for mental health, stress or musculoskeletal conditions,early referral to Employee Assistance Programmes (EAP) for CBT based counselling support for mental health issues,workplace adjustments that help to prevent conditions from developing or worsening, whilst reducing the barriers to work for those affected by mental or physical impairments,extensive training for managers and employees including on disability and mental health awareness, well-being, resilience and stress.   Financial YearNumber of officials who took sick leave for reasons relating to stressProportion of officials who took sick leave for reasons relating to stressProportion of total sick such sick leave was in the departmentApr 14 - Mar 1510.2%0.5%Apr 13 - Mar 1420.5%0.9%Apr 12 - Mar 1330.8%1.2%Apr 11 - Mar 1251.1%2.1%Apr 10 - Mar 1161.4%2.5% Background We have reported on the average sickness absence in the annual report (link) and do not specifically report on sickness absence due to stress. The DCMS sick absence data is low in comparison with the Civil Service average of 7.4 Average Working Days Lost. We do not have any evidence to know why this is. HR continues to remind all staff and managers of the importance of accurate and prompt recording on the HR system.   Financial YearNumber of officials who took sick leave for reasons relating to stressProportion of officials who took sick leave for reasons relating to stressDepartment FTETotal sickness in departmentPercentage of staff who took Stress Related Absence against total staff who recorded a sick absenceApr 14 - Mar 1510.2%4612030.5%Apr 13 - Mar 1420.5%3812340.9%Apr 12 - Mar 1330.8%3762591.2%Apr 11 - Mar 1251.1%4572432.1%Apr 10 - Mar 1161.4%4432422.5%   ¹Department FTE from DCMS Annual Report & Accounts 2010-11 and 2014-15

Department for Culture, Media and Sport: Departmental Expenditure Limits

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to page 92 of the Budget 2016, what steps he is taking to respond to planned changes to his Capital DEL in 2019-20.

Mr Edward Vaizey: Departmental budgets were set out at Spending Review 2015. Budget 2016 set out that around £1.5 billion capital investment in areas such as housing, schools and transport will be accelerated.

Department for Culture, Media and Sport: Departmental Expenditure Limits

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to page 91 of the Budget 2016, what steps he is taking to respond to planned changes to his Resource DEL in 2019-20.

Mr Edward Vaizey: The Budget sets out that the government will find a further £3.5 billion of savings from public spending in 2019-20, building on the plans set out at Spending Review 2015. To inform future spending decisions and the delivery of these savings, the government is launching an efficiency review. The Chief Secretary to the Treasury, with the support of the Paymaster General, will lead this efficiency review, which will report in 2018. The Department for Culture Media and Sport will actively support this review.

Football: Sportsgrounds

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what his Department's expenditure was on artificial football pitches in  (a) 2010-11, (b) 2011-12, (c) 2012-13, (d) 2013-14, (e) 2014-15 and (f) 2015-16 to date.

David Evennett: Since 2010/11, the Government has invested over £125 million with the specific purpose of creating and maintaining new artificial grass pitches (AGPs) delivered by the Football Foundation, Sport England (whose investment includes AGPs for football, and multi-sport projects/facilities) and Parklife football hubs programme. This investment came to £8,925,413 in 2010/11; £11,958,279 in 2011/12; £18,107,308 in 2012/13; £26,996,902 in 2013/14; £31,751,581 in 2014/15; and £27,407,989 in 2015/16 to date. Government funding in the Football Foundation has been matched by the Premier League and the Football Association.

British Telecom: EE

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment he has made of the potential effect on consumers of a merger between BT and EE; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Edward Vaizey: It is for the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) to assess the potential impacts of company mergers in the UK. Its role is to protect competition for the benefit of consumers, not the commercial interests of competitors.In the case of the takeover of EE by BT, the CMA considered the merger and all representations made to it and published its final decision in January, which can be found here [https://www.gov.uk/government/news/cma-clears-btee-merger]

Channel Four Television

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to the Answer of 10 February 2016 to Question 24859, what funding options for Channel 4 the Government is considering.

Mr Edward Vaizey: The government is looking at a broad range of options for the future of Channel 4, including those proposed by Channel 4's leadership. We want to ensure a strong and secure future for the broadcaster in what is a fast-changing and challenging environment.

Playing Fields: Sales

Tom Pursglove: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if he will make it his policy to extend the protection granted to playing fields to any community leisure facilities, by ensuring that Sport England must be consulted before the sale of any such facility; and if he will ensure that Sport England is sufficiently resourced to carry out that role effectively.

David Evennett: Government recognises the important contribution that opportunities for sport and recreation make to the health and wellbeing of communities. Planning policies should be based on robust and up-to-date assessments of community needs. Any change of policy to allow Sport England (or any other public body) to have similar responsibilities for community leisure facilities, as it does for playing fields, would be a matter for DCLG.

Sports: Finance

Tom Pursglove: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, when he plans to publish further details of his Department's draft plans to change the way sports funding is allocated, with reference to pages 16 and 17 of Sporting Future: A New Strategy for an Active Nation.

David Evennett: Sport England's new strategy, which is due to be published in Spring, will set out how the actions in Sporting Future will be delivered at grassroots level. This will set out the way in which funding will be allocated, in accordance with the principles set out in the government's strategy for sport.

Gambling

Fiona Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of first stake free offers on (a) the incidence of gambling addiction amongst (i) children and young people and (ii) other people and (b) people who already have such an addiction.

David Evennett: The Government remains committed to ensuring that people are protected from being harmed or exploited by gambling. As part of this, following a review of its Licence Conditions and Codes of Practice, last year the Gambling Commission introduced a range of measures to ensure that marketing and advertising is socially responsible. This included a new requirement that the marketing of ‘free bet’ offers is open, transparent and not misleading. The Government remains alive to concerns in this area and continues to make clear to the gambling industry that it expects them to demonstrate that they are improving existing player protection initiatives and evaluating the effects of previous initiatives. Looking ahead, the Responsible Gambling Strategy Board have identified this as a priority area for research. The Responsible Gambling Trust is therefore preparing to conduct research into the impact of marketing and advertising on young people’s gambling perceptions, attitudes and behaviour.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs: European Social Fund

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how much funding her Department received from the European Social Fund (a) between 2007 and 2014 and (b) from 2014 to the last month for which data is available.

George Eustice: The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has not received any funding from the European Social Fund.

Whales: East of England

Mr Ben Bradshaw: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 22 February 2016 to Question 26471, whether the UK cetacean Strandings Investigation Programme plans to assess the potential link between oil and gas activities and related seismic testing and the movement of sperm whales to North Sea waters.

George Eustice: The UK Cetacean Strandings Investigation Programme is currently working with experts from Germany and The Netherlands to carry out an assessment of all the potential factors, natural and/or human-induced, that may have contributed to the recent sperm whale strandings.

Whisky: Scotland

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the number of jobs supported by the Scotch whisky industry.

George Eustice: The Scotch whisky industry estimates that 10,800 people are directly employed in the industry in Scotland and the sector supports more than 40,000 jobs in total across the UK.

Flood Control: Cumbria

Sue Hayman: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the press release by her Department of 17 March 2016, how much of the £33 million funding for flood defence schemes in Cumbria will be spent in Flimby.

Rory Stewart: Flimby has been allocated £1.1 million of the £33 million funding for flood defence schemes in Cumbria.

Neonicotinoids

James Cartlidge: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will ensure that a cost impact assessment, including the potential impact assessment on the mobile seed cleaning industry, is made for any future emergency order relating to the use of neonicotinoids.

James Cartlidge: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will ensure that any new Emergency Authorisations related to neonicotinoids or seed management will include a provision that both certified seed and farm-saved seed are acceptable for the distribution of the seeds that are in the order.

George Eustice: Any future application for authorisation of neonicotinoids for emergency use will be assessed according to the legal requirements. These cover: the risks from use; whether the use addresses a danger which cannot be contained by any other reasonable means; and the means by which the use will be limited and controlled. The requirement for limited and controlled use includes ensuring that the product is demonstrably targeted towards those growers with the greatest need. The applicant would need to establish an auditable supply chain to ensure this requirement was met. The assessment of the application would be based on the case made by the applicant. If the requirements outlined above are met, the Government would have no grounds for withholding authorisation. However, there is no clear reason why it would be necessary to exclude farm-saved seed in designing appropriate control measures for an emergency authorisation of pesticide use on oilseed rape. We have drawn this issue to the attention of potential applicants.

Neonicotinoids

James Cartlidge: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will publish the stewardship documents for Emergency Authorisation No. 1949 and No. 1950 of 2015.

James Cartlidge: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, which companies, organisations and other persons, in any capacity, were given sight of the stewardship documents either before, or after, the issuing of Emergency Authorisation No. 1949 and No. 1950 of 2015.

George Eustice: The stewardship documents for these emergency authorisations were considered by HSE officials to ensure the stewardship scheme was consistent with the conditions of authorisation. The documents were also disclosed by Defra to Friends of the Earth under the process for their unsuccessful application for judicial review of the decision to make these authorisations in 2015. Copies will be placed in the Library.

Department for Energy and Climate Change

Energy: Prices

Dr Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what estimate she has made of the proportion of the total annual cost of energy bills in the UK which results from EU legal requirements.

Amber Rudd: My Department has made no estimate of the effect on annual energy bills in the UK resulting from EU legal requirements. Given that much of EU energy policy supports UK energy and climate objectives it is not possible to attribute particular cost elements of bills wholly to individual EU policies. Much EU legislation helps to keep down the level of energy bills – EU energy market liberalisation and integration and legislation such as product standards to improve energy efficiency provide significant benefits to UK consumers.

Nuclear Power Stations

Dr Phillip Lee: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what steps her Department is taking to promote the development of small modular reactors.

Andrea Leadsom: Small modular reactors (SMRs) are nuclear reactors with power outputs of 300MWe equivalent or less. They are modular, this means that the bulk of the design and plant can be fabricated in a factory environment and transported to site.Government recognises the potential of SMRs to offer potential for both economic growth and energy security.My Department is overseeing a £250m nuclear R&D programme, including a competition to identify the best value SMR design for the UK and £30m for an SMR enabling advanced manufacturing programme. Phase one of the SMR competition has been launched.An economic and technical assessment of SMRs is due to conclude soon. We will consider publishing at the appropriate point.

Renewable Energy

Will Quince: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what proportion of the UK's energy was generated from renewable sources in the last 12 months.

Amber Rudd: In 2014, the latest full year for which data is available, 7 per cent of the UK’s energy came from renewable sources, and 19 per cent of the UK’s electricity. This is a 15 per cent increase from the level of electricity generated from renewable sources in 2010.

Attorney General

Money Laundering: EU Law

Mr Charles Walker: To ask the Attorney General, what estimate his Department has made of the number of its senior civil servants who will potentially fall under the provisions of the Fourth EU Money Laundering Directive, 2015/849; and what assessment he has made of which of his Department's agencies or other public bodies will potentially be classed as holding a prominent public function for the purposes of that directive.

Robert Buckland: Under the Fourth Anti-Money Laundering Directive, which will be transposed into national law by June 2017, a politically exposed person is one who has been entrusted with a prominent public function domestically or by a foreign country. This would include some senior civil servants, such as ambassadors and chargés d'affaires. The Government's view is that the Directive permits a risk-based approach to the identification of whether an individual is a politically exposed person and, when identified, the Directive enables the application of different degrees of enhanced measures to reflect the risks posed. The Government will be setting out this view in a consultation which will be published shortly.The changes proposed under the Directive should not prevent any individual in this category from gaining or maintaining access to financial services. The Treasury regularly raises these issues with financial institutions and the regulator, and encourages financial institutions to take a proportionate, risk-based approach when applying these measures.

Wales Office

Money Laundering: EU Law

Mr Charles Walker: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what estimate his Department has made of the number of its Senior Civil Servants who will potentially fall under the provisions of the Fourth EU Money Laundering Directive, 2015/849.

Guto Bebb: The Government's view is that the Directive permits a risk-based approach to the identification of whether an individual is a politically exposed person and, when identified, the Directive enables the application of different degrees of enhanced measures to reflect the risks posed. The Government will be setting out this view in a consultation which will be published shortly.

Ministry of Justice

G4S: Staff

Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many G4S employees in contracted-out facilities have been charged with a work-related criminal offence since 2010; and in which facility was each such person employed.

Andrew Selous: A total of 10* G4S employees in the 8 contracted-out facilities they run on behalf of the Ministry of Justice have been charged with a work-related criminal offence since 2010. The vast majority of staff working in these facilities are honest, hard-working professionals. There is no place for criminal behaviour within prisons and secure training centres. *All figures are rounded to the nearest 10, with numbers ending in 5 rounded to the nearest multiple of 20 to prevent systematic bias. As with all HR databases, extracts are taken at a fixed point in time, to ensure consistency of reporting. However the database itself is dynamic, and where updates to the database are made late, subsequent to the taking of the extract, these updates will not be reflected in figures produced by the extract. For this reason, HR data are unlikely to be precisely accurate, and to present unrounded figures would be to overstate the accuracy of the figures. Rounding to 10 accurately depicts the level of certainty that is held with these figures. Low numbers are suppressed, in conjunction with the rounding policy to prevent disclosure in accordance with the Data Protection Act 1998.

Minimum Wage

Paul Blomfield: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many claims for underpayment of the national minimum wage have been brought before employment tribunals in each of the last five years; how many such claims were successful; and how much was awarded to claimants in claims related to underpayment of the national minimum wage in that period.

Paul Blomfield: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many claims for underpayment of the national minimum wage have been brought before employment tribunals since 1 July 2015; and how many such claims referred to underpayment of the national minimum wage for a period of more than (a) two and (b) six years.

Andrew Selous: The number of National Minimum Wage claims accepted by the Employment Tribunal in each of the last five years, including those accepted by the Tribunal since 1 July 2015, are published in the Tribunal and Gender Recognition Certificate Statistics Quarterly. The number of successful National Minimum Wage claims are also published in the quarterly statistics. The most recent report, for the period October to December 2015, published on 10 March 2016, can be viewed at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/tribunal-and-gender-recognition-statistics-quarterly-october-to-december-2015 The Tribunal only records and publishes awards made to claimants in discrimination cases. The amount awarded in National Minimum Wage claims in each of the last five years can only be obtained at a disproportionate cost. Information relating to the period of time an Employment Tribunal claim refers to underpayment of the National Minimum Wage for a period of more than (a) two and (b) six years is not recorded by the Tribunal and can only be obtained at a disproportionate cost.

Human Trafficking: Compensation

Paul Blomfield: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many victims of trafficking have brought civil claims against their traffickers in each of the last five years; how many such claims have resulted in awards for damages; and what the value of such awards was in such cases.

Mike Penning: The information requested is not held centrally.

Witnesses

Mims Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will ensure the adequacy of provision of screens for use as a special protection measure for vulnerable and intimidated witnesses.

Mike Penning: There are many provisions already in place to help victims and witnesses give evidence in court.Children are automatically eligible to receive special measures – such as giving evidence from behind a screen or pre-recording their evidence or giving it via video link – and these are available to other vulnerable victims and witnesses at a court’s discretion. We continue to work with criminal justice partners (particularly the police and the CPS) to further increase awareness and ensure the consistent use of special measures for vulnerable and intimidated victims and witnesses.

Domestic Violence: Legal Aid Scheme

Jo Stevens: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the Court of Appeal's decision on domestic violence evidential requirements for legal aid, what interim steps his Department plans to make to allow victims of domestic violence with evidence of financial abuse access to legal aid.

Andrew Selous: We are pleased the court confirmed that the Lord Chancellor did have the power to set domestic violence evidence requirements. We are carefully considering the judgment as we decide how best to respond to the court’s concerns and will make a further announcement in due course.

Domestic Violence: Children

Sarah Champion: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to reduce the number of child deaths (a) by people who have been found guilty of and (b) related to domestic violence.

Caroline Dinenage: The family courts take the issue of domestic violence extremely seriously. The Child Arrangement Programme and Practice Direction 12J set out a strong and clear framework where domestic violence is alleged and all judges receive specific training on this framework. In prisons the National Offenders Management Service accredited programmes are a proven way of tackling intimate partner violence and reducing reoffending in custody and the community. All programmes are based on the latest theory base and are regularly updated to make sure they continue to be as effective as possible. Provision of these services is widely available and provides an effective response to the causes of intimate partner violence.

Knives: Sales

Mr David Burrowes: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many online sellers of knives have been (a) prosecuted and (b) convicted under section 141A of the Criminal Justice Act 1988 for selling knives to people under 18 since that section came into force; and what sentences were handed down to people so convicted.

Andrew Selous: This information is not held centrally and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

Human Rights Act 1998

Ms Margaret Ritchie: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent discussions he has held with his counterparts in the devolved administrations on proposals to repeal the Human Rights Act 1998.

Dominic Raab: The Government has discussed human rights reform with a range of stakeholders in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, including ministers in the Scottish and Welsh Governments and the Northern Ireland Executive. We will continue to engage fully with the devolved administrations as we develop our proposals.

Human Rights Act 1998

Ms Margaret Ritchie: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what plans he has to consult on proposals to repeal the Human Rights Act 1998.

Dominic Raab: We will bring forward proposals for a Bill of Rights, which will replace the Human Rights Act. Our Bill will protect fundamental human rights, but also prevent their abuse and restore some common sense to the system. We will fully consult on our proposals before introducing legislation and will publish our proposals in due course.

Personal Independence Payment: Appeals

Michelle Donelan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people have had their initial assessments for personal independence payments assessments payments upheld on appeal in (a) the UK, (b) Wiltshire and (c) the Chippenham constituency in each of the last 12 months.

Andrew Selous: The information requested is not held centrally.

Cabinet Office

Lobbying

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what recent discussions he has had with representatives of science and research and charity organisations on the potential effect of including anti-lobbying clauses in grant agreements.

Matthew Hancock: Holding answer received on 21 March 2016



The new clause in government grants makes sure that taxpayers’ money is not diverted from their intended purpose and wasted on political campaigning and political lobbying.As indicated at the House of Lords Science Technology Committee, BIS and Cabinet Office are looking into how this new clause will apply to academic research.

Electoral Register: Credit Reference Agencies

Louise Haigh: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will make an assessment of the effect on electoral registration rates of introduction of a requirement to pass on electoral roll data to credit reference firms.

John Penrose: Copies of the electoral register have been made available for sale in one form or another since at least 1832. Credit reference agencies purchase the electoral register because it provides proof to lenders that applicants for credit do in fact live at the address given and that they are not attempting to obtain credit fraudulently using a false name and address. Given the importance of credit in a modern economy, the then Government concluded in 2002 that this was in the public interest. The credit reference agencies are precluded by law from doing anything else with the electoral data, unless the data is also included in the edited register, from which individuals can opt out.

Permanent Secretaries: Social Class

Louise Haigh: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many permanent secretaries are from a lower socio-economic background.

Matthew Hancock: Holding answer received on 22 March 2016



Data on the socio-economic background of Permanent Secretaries is not available. We are introducing a metric of social mobility as part of our 2016 Talent Action Plan and this is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/talent-action-plan-2016-removing-the-barriers-to-success.

Cabinet Office: European Social Fund

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how much funding his Department received from the European Social Fund (a) between 2007 and 2014 and (b) from 2014 to the last month for which data is available.

Matthew Hancock: The Department has no record of receiving any funds from the European Social Fund.

Civil Servants: Recruitment

Louise Haigh: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to page 5 of the publication, Socio-Economic Diversity in the Fast Stream, published in February 2016, what progress his Department has made on (a) targeting universities and academic departments, (b) evaluating the impact of campus activity and schools outreach, (c) the iterative use of live recruitment data to inform approaches to promoting SEB diversity and (d) introducing other enhanced data insights to direct resources more effectively through the attraction process.

Matthew Hancock: Holding answer received on 23 March 2016



On 2 February we published a report by the Bridge Group on socio-economic diversity in the Civil Service’s flagship graduate recruitment programme, the Fast Stream. This report can be accessed from the link at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/socio-economic-diversity-in-the-fast-stream-the-bridge-reportWe have today published our 2016 Talent Action Plan for the civil service. This is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/talent-action-plan-2016-removing-the-barriers-to-success. This will set out how we will increase social mobility in the civil service, including how we will implement the recommendations by the Bridge Group on increasing socio-economic diversity in our flagship graduate recruitment programme, the Fast Stream.

Civil Servants: Work Experience

Louise Haigh: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what recent progress his Department has made on allowing interns who successfully complete the Summer Diversity Internship Programme to pass straight to the Fast Stream assessment centre on the basis of having successfully completed that internship.

Louise Haigh: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many people have participated in the Summer Diversity Internship Programme since its inception; and how many of those participants have subsequently been accepted onto the Civil Service Fast Stream.

Louise Haigh: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the eligibility criteria are for the Summer Diversity Internship Programme for socially or economically disadvantaged groups.

Louise Haigh: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the Summer Diversity Internship Programme weekly training allowance is taxed.

Matthew Hancock: We have been working closely with the Civil Service Commission to provide a mechanism for fast tracking those who have been on the internship to the Fast Stream assessment centre, based on positive appraisal of the intern’s placement performance and completion of the initial internship selection testing.This initiative is therefore for interns who are successful during the internship programme and we are currently working through the implementation plan.In the last 5 years 778 have undertaken the programme (2011 – 73; 2012 – 115; 2013 – 161; 2014 – 173; 2015 – 256), with a further 300 anticipated this year. The estimated conversion rate into Fast Stream is 10-15%. Accurate tracking of success into Fast Stream will be achievable for 2016, using an updated applicant tracking approach.A number of criteria are used to measure socio-economic status, however the metric that is now used to designate lower socio-economic background is parental occupation (aligning with Office of National Statistics methodology). This approach is currently under review following a recent social mobility research study by the Bridge Group.This internship allowance is taxable and the amount of tax paid will depend on which tax code the intern is put on before they start.

Money Laundering: EU Law

Mr Charles Walker: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what estimate his Department has made of the number of its senior civil servants who will potentially fall under the provisions of the Fourth EU Money Laundering Directive, 2015/849; and what assessment he has made of which of his Department's agencies or other public bodies will potentially be classed as holding a prominent public function for the purposes of that directive.

Matthew Hancock: The Government's view is that the Directive permits a risk-based approach to the identification of whether an individual is a politically exposed person and, when identified, the Directive enables the application of different degrees of enhanced measures to reflect the risks posed. The Government will be setting out this view in a consultation which will be published shortly.The changes proposed under the Directive should not prevent any individual in this category from gaining or maintaining access to financial services. We regularly raise these issues with financial institutions and the regulator, and we encourage financial institutions to take a proportionate, risk-based approach when applying these measures.

Mortality Rates

Stephen Timms: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the mortality rate for people aged between 40 and 50 was in (a) England and Wales, (b) Newcastle, (c) Sheffield and (d) Newham in each of the last five years.

Mr Rob Wilson: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.



UKSA Letter to Member - Mortality Rate
(PDF Document, 80.71 KB)